Fallen Souls
by CrystallineX
Summary: At the age of 14, Kurosaki Karin's chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't necessarily mean she's dead... Karin centric. COMPLETE
1. Karin's Life

**8/15/08: I came back to read this… and I decided that I wanted to revamp this story. My writing style has changed yet again. **

[Note: I noticed… that there weren't that many stories on Karin… So I decided to use some spare time to_ make_ one! Well, it's been three years since Ichigo became a shinigami; not much more to say. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Oh, and just for the sake of tradition, Bleach isn't mine.]

...

**Chapter 1** - Karin's Life

...

Homeroom was always dull. Though the class itself was lively, nobody in it was especially interesting or out of the ordinary, save for the fourteen-year-old individual who could see dead spirits.

As usual, the teacher took attendance, students chattered noisily, and one student paid absolutely no attention to any of it at all.

"Kurosaki Karin!"

Until her name was called. Reluctantly emerging from her half-comatose state, a girl with unruly raven hair flopped her hand lazily and yawned, "Here…."

The teacher's eyes lingered on the half-asleep student. He disapproved of her demeanor and her appearance, but it was better to fight one battle at a time. Preferably the easier one. Rapping his ruler on Karin's desk, he said, "Kurosaki… How many times do I have to tell you to wear the standard uniform to school?"

Propping her chin on her hand, Karin yawned again and groused, "I _am_ wearing the uniform, Kusakabe sensei..."

At a skeptical look from Kusakabe, Karin shrugged.

"It's a mixture of the two standard uniforms. The pants are part of our phys. ed uniform. I'm wearing the shirt and necktie aren't I?"

Kurosaki Karin looked only mildly like a delinquent.

Her hair wasn't orange like Ichigo's, and despite its porcupinestic tendencies, it wasn't her shoulder-length black hair that made her stick out like a sore thumb in the classroom. It was her attire. In contrast to all the other girls in her class, Karin wore gray jogging-pants donated to the school by the Addidas corporation, the sleeves of her white collar-shirt rolled up and wrinkled, her red necktie loose and draped over her shoulder. Contrastingly, all the other girls, including Karin's twin, Kurosaki Yuzu, obediently wore gray skirts and jackets, their white shirts (for the most part) unwrinkled and their red neckties straight.

The homeroom teacher and Karin proceeded to engage in a glaring contest; Karin won, and the teacher gave up on critiquing Karin's uniform. For that day, at least. Heaving a long-suffering sigh, he went back to calling roll.

"Kurosaki Yuzu!"

Yuzu, with her honey-colored hair and innocent temperament, with considerable more enthusiasm than her twin, raised her hand and piped up, "Here!"

All the boys in the class muttered amongst themselves about Karin's contrary behavior.

"Polar opposite of Yuzu…"

"I still can't believe they're twins!"

"She's practically like a guy!"

In front, Karin rolled her eyes. Her keen ears could hear every word being uttered behind her. And actually, she didn't really mind so much. Karin knew she was different than Yuzu, and she did her best to balance out her 'yin of a fraternal twin' with as much 'yang' that she could muster on her part. What the boys said about her was actually comforting in a way. It satisfied Karin to know that the boys didn't think she was insipid or stupid like some of the other girls could be.

When Karin had been younger, the boys had first avoided her because of "cooties." Then they'd deigned to play with her because she was good at soccer. But come middle school, they'd started to realize that she was an oddity. She was the star of her school soccer team (and the only girl), though, so the boys didn't quite dare to ostracize her publicly.

"She's really flat too…"

Having heard enough, Karin perched her elbow over the back of her chair and turned to look at the two boys whispering from their seats behind her.

"Did you say something?"

The two boys shrank back in their seats and Karin smirked. It was almost funny to see how the back-talkers clammed up whenever she was right in their faces. It was too bad that the boys would grow up and mature come high school. Their reactions amused her.

Turning back to her desk partner, Karin asked, "Do you have your English notes, Midoriko?"

Midoriko had been her and Yuzu's friend since elementary school; she never tested Karin's temper and she was nice, even though Karin had the vague feeling that Midori found her a bit intimidating.

...

Throughout the school day, while she tuned out her teachers' lectures, Karin felt bits of spiritual pressure flaring up every once in a while. Each time, she knew it was either her brother's or one of his shinigami friends; she was getting better at being able to tell which spiritual energy belonged to whom these days. A particularly strong flare usually marked her brother. Any other minimal flares were usually those of Ichigo's comrades; they were probably trying not to attract attention and disrupt what they probably viewed as the 'human world.' Most of the battles were short in duration, but every once in a while, Karin felt noticeably longer battles, between a shinigami and what she'd once witnessed to be a humanoid hollow. Such battles always seemed more difficult and dangerous for the opposing shinigami, and the prolonged fights put Karin on edge, the spiritual pressures grating on her nerves. Unable to concentrate, Karin would stare out the window, imagining the battles…

"Kurosaki Karin! You seem to be done with your classwork. Come up here and solve this math problem for us."

…only to be picked on by irate teachers. It was lucky that Karin did quite well with her studies. In tests, she ranked in the top twenty of her school, the top five in her class.

...

As usual, Karin ran on cruise control during soccer scrimmage. With an ideal physique for weaving through the boys and setting herself up for the goal shot, getting past a goalie who's style she knew well should have been a piece of cake. But for the first time in several years, Karin missed a goal. Eyes glazed, she hit the ball from too much of an angle, and it glanced off the goal post. Staring at the hills visible behind the school, she didn't even notice her mistake.

"Kurosaki!"

Karin snapped out of her reverie at the coach's voice. Turning, she answered, "Yeah, coach?"

His face expressing something between worry and irritation, the coach asked, "Is something up?"

For a second, Karin looked confused, until she glanced at the score tally for the practice. Realization hit her, and she looked irritated, and even sheepish.

"Ugh… I missed the goal? Sorry, coach."

"Don't forget that we're aiming for the nationals this year, Kurosaki. Keep your head in focus."

Soccer was her passion, but Karin only heard half of her coach's talk. She found herself staring at the hills again. Somewhere over there, her older brother, Ichi-nii, was fighting again.

As she sat on the sidelines, absentmindedly tugging at the collar of her soccer jersey, Karin reviewed the shinigami situation for the umpteenth time.

So Karin knew. Ichigo knew Karin knew. And Karin knew Ichigo knew she knew. The list went on, ending with an unspoken agreement between them not to talk about it. The last time Karin had tried to ask her older brother about what he was doing, Ichigo had straight out denied everything.

But Karin still didn't know as much as she wanted to about spirit world. In fact, she knew next to nothing except that stagnant, fallen souls that had lingered in the human world turned into hollows, and that Ichigo sometimes disappeared for weeks at a time, usually coming back with triple the spiritual power he had possessed before he had left.

Even with her limited intelligence network on the workings of shinigami and hollow communities (greatly limited to what Karin's own two black eyes could observe) Karin did have a vague grasp on what Ichigo had been doing during his weeks of absence over the past several years. She had been aware of his shinigami training, and his escapades in the world of souls, then in the world of hollows and whatnot - but she kept quiet about it; Ichigo was obviously wary of his family's involvement with his shinigami-duties. For the last three years, though, she had been aware of the brief battles that had been occurring between the shinigami and the humanoid-hollows. It seemed pretty much like a stalemate, but Karin knew that Ichigo, even as a senior in high school, always kept up his guard, ready to charge off to battle.

That was how another day of school ended.

"See ya, Midoriko!" "Bye, Midori-chan!"

Waving goodbye to their friend, Kurosaki Karin slung an arm over Yuzu's shoulder and headed home. On their way out through the school gates, Yuzu inquired, "How was soccer practice, Karin-chan?"

Yuzu was always so caring. Karin hadn't even been thinking of what Yuzu would be doing in cooking club besides… well, cooking. Feeling slightly guilty, Karin replied, "It was alright. I'm sure you were at the top of your cooking club again."

Grinning happily, Yuzu nodded. "Well, it's the one thing I'm good at, so I work hard."

Karin snorted. "I don't know how you can stand cooking so many times a day."

No matter that they were twins, they were as different as night and day. Karin was, essentially, cynical, strong, and _Karin_. Her twin, on the other hand, was gentle, sensitive, and_ Yuzu_.

Apart from the differences in their personalities, Karin was taller and with a boyish figure, while Yuzu looked far more feminine, despite her shorter haircut. Frankly, as boys quickly noticed, Karin also just wasn't quite as well endowed as her twin. On the other hand, the physical similarities between Karin and Ichigo were striking, further pronounced when Karin scowled (which was often).

While walking in comfortable silence with Yuzu, Karin felt the presence of a hollow once again. Karin kept her senses on alert out of pure habit; the last few years had taught her at least that much came in use for surviving in a city teetering on the edge of a hollow invasion. She also knew that Ichigo was busy with his last year of highschool. She surreptitiously helped with the weaker hollows whenever possible, always keeping a soccer ball in a net attached to her backpack. It was her weapon.

Presently, Karin stopped in her tracks, sensing a hollow nearby. Yuzu too, stopped and turned to ask, "What's wrong, Karin-chan?"

Karin tried not to take too long to come up with an answer; she didn't want to draw Yuzu's suspicion. "Nothing, I just remembered something I left at the locker rooms. Go ahead home. I'll catch up with you later."

When Yuzu hesitated, Karin waved her off, encouraging her, "Go on. Can't have the men in our house starving because I made you walk around with me."

Though puzzled - Karin seemed to be forgetting things quite often lately - Yuzu nodded and continued home.

Until she had made sure that Yuzu was out of sight, Karin pretended to walk back towards school. Looking back over her shoulder once more time, Karin saw that Yuzu had turned the corner. Immediately, Karin started sprinting in the direction she sensed the hollow. Unhitching the soccer-ball net from her backpack, Karin dropped the soccer ball to the ground and dribbled it to the area where she felt the hollow. Upon seeing the hollow, Karin thought, not for the first time, how grotesque hollows looked with their skeletal masks and mutilated bodies, whether they had animalistic limbs, slimy tentacles, or extra appendages.

Before the hollow could target her as a meal, Karin came to a stop with the dribbling, stepping on the soccer ball firmly and stopping its rotation. After a mere split second, in which the hollow had just noticed Karin's presence, Karin drew back her foot, aimed and kicked the soccer ball. Goals and their wide berth, even guarded by a goalie, did not begin to compare to hitting a live target.

She felt a slight thrill of exhilaration as she packed a fair amount of spiritual energy into the ball; it hit the hollow dead-on at the center of its mask, cracking it into pieces. Just as usual, the hollow's mask disintegrated with the rest of its body.

Karin grinned with almost feral satisfaction, retrieved the soccer ball, tucking it back into its net and hooking it back onto her backpack.

_'Time to go back home.'_ Karin thought as she anticipated the dinner Yuzu was preparing. Defeating hollows made her hungry.

...

[Crystal: How do you like it?

I realize that I could have just made this into a one-shot, the way I ended this chapter, but I think I spent to much time developing the setting and Karin's character and outlook on life just to end it here.]

**Now that I look back on it, a one shot like that would have made me angry if I were a reader. o_o**


	2. To Bait a Hollow

Disclaimer: For the sake of tradition, Bleach isn't mine.

Note 1: I will be sticking to things in the manga, not in the anime… Canon only. For those of you who only watch the Bleach anime, there won't be any spoilers, do not fear. In case you're not as hard-core Bleach-fans as I am, in parenthesis, I will explain some of the inside-Bleach jokes.

...

**Chapter 2** - To Bait a Hollow

...

"I'm home."

Karin shed her tennis shoes at the front door, tossed her backpack into her and Yuzu's bedroom floor, and automatically headed towards the kitchen, drawn by the tasty aroma that leaked through the kitchen doorway.

Yuzu hadn't changed out of her standard middle-school uniform yet; she had simply put on an apron over her clothes to protect them from any unfortunate culinary accidents that would probably never happen. Cooking had been a large part of Yuzu's life since she had been five years old, mainly because the family had eaten only rice and instant ramen (or starved, fine way for a doctor's family to spend their days) for the first few weeks after her mother's death.

(A/N: Man, I wish I could have cooked at the age of five... o.o)

Looking around and noting the rare silence besides the sizzling of hot water and clattering of pots and pans, Karin noticed that "the old man" wasn't home.

"Is 'the old man' still at the clinic?"

"Yeah, it's really busy over there; there was an fire at the department store nearby, so Daddy's treating burns."

Tasting the soup and deeming it as too bland, Yuzu pulled a face and hastily sprinkled in a bit of salt. Ladling up some more of the liquid and sipping gingerly, Yuzu nodded her approval of the seasoning and turned back towards Karin.

"Karin-chan, can you go over and help Daddy with his patients? I'd help, but I need to watch dinner."

She seemed rather apologetic, which Karin found strange, seeing as how Yuzu was the reason the Kurosaki family hadn't all died from consuming too much junk food. Nodding, Karin said, "Sure."

Returning to her room, Karin changed out of her phys. ed. uniform and into her ironed (Yuzu's work) nurse uniform, preparing to assist her father. She tied her black hair back and jammed her nurse hat onto her head and crossed over to the threshold that divided the Kurosaki family's house and Kurosaki Clinic. Opening the door, Karin said, "Old man, I'm here to help."

Almost immediately, the raw smell of a hollow-inflicted wound hit Karin, and she recoiled from the doorway. Clenching her fists, Karin resisted the urge to cover her nose with her hand. Isshin turned towards her and said, "Good timing, Karin, give me a hand with this guy, will you? His burns seem more severe than the burns of the others that were in the department store. You know what to do. I'll go check on the other patients."

Reluctantly stepping into the clinic and closing the door behind her, Karin took the cleaning swab from her father and turned to the patient. He was lying on his right side, and Karin could immediately see that he had third and fourth-degree burns on his general torso area. Of course, the skin was charred and obviously burned, but they were queer and in the shape of long parallel lines, as if talons had raked across them.

Considering that a hollow had caused every one of the wounds, Karin was surprised that the man hadn't sustained fifth or sixth-degree burns. He hadn't burned and lost his muscles or bones; only his skin, as if that wasn't enough. The smell of burnt skin and hollow-wound fought to take over Karin's olfactory senses, and Karin used up nearly all her self-restraint to keep from retching.

The patient was only semi-conscious and given anesthetics; he barely seemed to notice that someone else was starting to treat his wounds. Karin wrinkled her nose, not at the wound - wounds weren't such a new thing to Karin, she worked part-time at a clinic after all - but at the stench of hollow reeking from the slash-shaped burns. She treated the wounds carefully, but as quickly as possible, as to get away from the stench. After cleaning and dressing the wounds with bandages, Karin gave specific, firm directions for the patient to stay put for a few days at least, or risk making the burns worse. She didn't think he'd heard though, he acted as if he were in a coma with his eyes open and unfocused, he was only blinking and breathing, performing only the involuntary body functions.

After treating a few more patients, who, thankfully, seemed to have suffered from burns that hadn't come directly from the hollow, Karin returned home to Yuzu, Ichigo, and dinner. Changing into substantially more comfortable clothes, black sweatpants and a t-shirt, Karin sat down with the rest of her family and ate a meal that was as delicious as it usually was. Ignoring the bits and pieces of conversation carried by her sister and father, Karin wolfed down her food as quickly as possible; she didn't even fight over the meat with Ol' Beardy - her father - as she usually did. She wanted to check out the burnt department store.

"- Ichigo, you've finished growing now, so I'll take that -"

"-Daddy! You already ate one -"

"- I'm growing old, I need the calcium -"

To Karin, the snatches of conversation seemed completely irrelevant compared to the the distant roars of hollows that she thought she could hear. Privately, she felt that one hollow had been quite enough for one day, but Karin had a bad feeling; and her instincts were usually right. As if to prove Karin's suspicions, Ichigo looked slightly uneasy as well, and it wasn't because his father had just robbed half of his dinner. In fact, Karin was rather surprised that he hadn't gone out to get rid of the roaming hollow himself. Perhaps one of his shinigami comrades was doing it instead.

Hastily slurping down the rest of her soup, Karin all but threw her dishes in the sink and yelled, "Thanks for the meal!"

Then, Karin first rushed to the room that she and Yuzu shared to grab the soccer ball. As Karin ran from her room to the front door and started jamming her shoes on, Ichigo inquired worriedly, "Karin? Where are you going?"

Karin, in turn, replied tritely and unhelpfully, "Out. Wanted to take a look at something. I'll be back soon."

Adjusting her hold her soccer ball and wiggling her feet inside her shoes to get comfortable, Karin barely registered what her older brother was saying, "Oi! You're avoiding the questi-"

Karin firmly shut the door on her older brother. Stepping away from the door deliberately, Karin entertained thoughts that had obviously sprung from years of bitter irritation that her older brother had provided her with.

She wasn't the only one who had avoided questions. In fact, Ichigo was lucky she hadn't outright lied to his face about where she was going. Sighing, Karin tried to push away the slight bitterness at her brother's secretiveness over the last few years. Instead, she focused on running to the department store as quickly as possible.

Gasping for breath, Karin leaned against the telephone pole nearby the charred remains of what used to be one of Karakura's department store chains.

Crossing her arms and observing how almost nothing else in the area was harmed except for the department store itself, Karin knew that something was definitely fishy. The sidewalk right in front of the department store was barely charred, but all that was left of the department store itself was a twisted chunk of metal framework. And the faint smell of hollow remained.

Having come this far, Karin was too stubborn to just leave.

"That's it, then. I'll bait it out."

Radiating her spiritual energy rather recklessly, Karin sat down on the curb and waited for a hollow to show up.

She didn't have to wait long.

**A/N: For those of you who would like to know if this fic will contain ROMANCE! Yes, it will.**

This is my take on the Karin/crack-pairing thing. Just cuz it's fun.

AND... If I ever decide to pair Karin with Hitsugaya... I won't include the soccer game, so if they ever meet in my fic, it'll be the first time. But this pairing is, unfortunately, unlikely. Since by this time, Karin will look older than Hitsugaya. (people in Soul Society age very slowly) Actually, I have nothing against girls being older than the guys they date. But for anime/manga/fanfiction purposes, I think I'm going to try and steer clear of this particular difficulty.

I do enjoy reading (well-written) Hitsu-Karin fics, but... yeah. I'm not a good enough writer to be able to make Hitsugaya suddenly grow up at the same pace as Karin and have them end up lovey dovey (and still make sense, anyways). I'm more of a Hina/Hitsu fan (which is hypocritical, I know, because Hinamori looks older than Hitsugaya too. But at least they grew up together and he obviously cares about her very much, be it in a romantic way or not).

No offense to those fans who _do_ imagine these pairings likely, I'm never going to do anything like Sado/Karin (He can't even remember her face!) or Ishida/Karin (have they ever met?) or Zaraki/Karin (wtf?) Yuzu/Karin (eh... sorry boys). Yeah, compared to these possible pairings, I think Hitsugaya has millions of times better of a chance. xX

Odds are, I'll do a different crack pairing... -cackles- I'll keep what pairing in mind a secret, though if enough readers give their input, I may change for the sake of popular opinion. (Shallow, I know, but I'm a crowd pleaser at heart.)

I enjoy reading crack-pairings for kicks, though.

Sorry about the rant.


	3. Karin's Death

Disclaimer: Bleach isn't mine.

Note: I will be sticking to the way things happened in the manga, not in the anime… For those of you who only watch bleach anime, there won't be any spoilers, do not fear. In case you're not as hard-core Bleach-fans as I am, in parenthesis, I will explain some of the inside-Bleach jokes.

...

**Chapter 3** - Karin's Death

...

Sure enough, after a few minutes of recklessly displaying her spiritual pressure, Karin wasn't disappointed in her expectations. The predator came for its prey rather quickly. Only, Karin hadn't expected the "predator" to come in the form of three separate hollows. She gulped; she knew that three hollows together were out of her league. Panic threatened to overwhelm her, but she forced it away; panicking would get her killed.

Thinking at lightening speed, Karin backed up into a narrower street, calculating that the hollows would only be able to attack her one at a time. She could handle them one at a time. Aiming and kicking her soccer ball at the first hollow to try and attack, Karin successfully broke its mask. But the ball rolled out of the alley, too far away for her to retrieve. And she only saw one hollow remaining, and though it hesitated a bit before continuing onto its target, it loped towards her with frightening ease. But then Karin's brain registered the incongruity in the numbers. Three - one two. But there was only one hollow left.

_'Where did the other one go?'_ Karin thought frantically, before looking up and seeing that the other hollow was airborne.

"Damnit!

She hadn't realized that one of the hollows had the advantage of wings. The fast-approaching hollow lunged with its long arm towards Karin, who closed her eyes for the impact.

_'It's__ over __now...__'_

Karin felt a pang of regret as she though about her brother. She had shrugged him off so coldly while she had taken off just to go get herself killed.

_'__Ichi__-__nii!__'_

...

To Karin's surprise, the blow from the hollow wasn't fatal, nor did it hurt. All she felt was a sudden bout of nausea and a heaviness in the air. It was hard to breath and difficult to move, much less move quickly.

A sudden clinking noise that called Karin back to her senses. It was then that Karin realized that she was in the form of a soul; she had a chain protruding from her chest. Unconsciously, she grabbed at the long chain, finding the steel links cold beneath her fingers. Karin could see her own prone physical body laying upon the ground, linked to her chain of fate. Through the haze of her thoughts and sudden irrational urge to rip out the chain out of her chest, Karin managed to grasp at a bit of relief within her mind.

That her chain of fate wasn't broken was something in itself. Technically, Kurosaki Karin was still alive. Another bout of nausea hit her, and she coughed and retched. The two hollows were there, their red-glowing gazes looking back and forth between Karin's body and her soul. And she could do nothing to defend her body, especially as she was separated from it.

It was then that Karin realized the gravity of the situation, and began to run for her life. She had briefly considered the possibility (or impossibility) of taking her body with her, but a second wave of nausea and the swimming of her vision made her think better of it. Even besides the nausea, the chains hindered her steps, clanking from her chest and growing longer with every step she took.

The preservation of her spirit came before the preservation of her body, Karin somehow reasoned logically with a mind that was scrambled and saturated with panic.

Meanwhile, the two hollows had realized they hadn't finished her off, and planned to do so to eat the tasty soul of high spiritual caliber. (Slow AND stupid, these hollows. tsk tsk)

...

Moving was painful. Every muscle she moved protested, and Karin felt like she was attempting to swim though a mass of molasses; molasses that was determined to clog her lungs. But run Karin did, for her life, or rather, her soul. If she could only hold out until she got home...

As Karin weakly ran, she mentally berated herself for getting into this mess.

Why did she have to be so stupid to think that she could bait out and defeat a hollow on her own? Why hadn't she considered that more than one hollow might come? With a wave of shame, Karin realized that her last few single victories had swelled her head and made her overconfident. But even as such epiphanies ran through her head, Karin knew that each forced step she took could be her last. Coughing and gasping for breath, Karin clenched her teeth forced herself to stumble two more steps forward. She didn't have to look behind her to know that the hollows were gaining on her. She could _feel_ them. Finally, with one extended set of talons, the hollow closer to her attacked. Karin jumped at the last moment and escaped without any visible scathe. Or so she thought.

Until she noticed that the hollow's talons had instead, severed her chain of fate from her physical body with a spark of black flames. Karin's eyes widened.

"Shit!"

The nausea was gone, but something much bigger at stake had just been destroyed. Karin now had no way of getting back into her body. But to her chagrin, Karin had no time to just stand and worry about her chain of fate. A more imminent matter was at hand; something concerning, possibly, the damnation of her soul. Karin wasn't sure she believed in heaven, but if it did exist, she was quite sure it would be pretty hard to get into if she were eaten by a hollow.

For sure, Karin's mind wasn't working properly, but she knew that she had to get back home, to where Ichigo was.

...

There, the familiar house labeled, "Kurosaki Clinic" was in sight. Then, with the last of her strength, Karin ran for all she was worth, shouting, "Ichi-nii!"

Almost immediately, Ichigo was at the door, already in his shinigami outfit. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Karin realized that he had sensed the coming of the hollows. With two swift strokes, Ichigo defeated them. This only managed to increase Karin's torrent of feelings, mostly composed of shame and self-directed anger. She could have just let her brother deal with the hollows. She hadn't needed to die just to succeed in killing one hollow and failing to kill the other two.

Ichigo, still dressed in his shinigami outfit, turned to Karin, he started to ask her worriedly, "Are you alright-"

Then his eyes fell on Karin's severed chain of fate. It was as if he did not believe what he saw. Almost pleadingly, Karin asked, "Ichi-nii…. I… I'm dead, aren't I?"

...

A/N: For those that think that my characters OOC (out of character) I'm actually trying my best. And for that are even more hard-core Bleach fans than I am, forgive me if I make a mistake in details...

And I'm noticing that my chapters are getting very short... maybe I should lengthen them, and merge two chapters into one, though that may take a bit more time... hmm...


	4. A Way Out

CHAPTER 4

Note: I noticed… that there a limited amount of stories on Karin's potential… So I decided to use some spare time to _write_ one! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Taito/Tite.

:D Special thanks to reviewers! hugs

**Beware: Karin's a bit out of it in the chapter, and therefore a bit OOC, but I wouldn't act normally if I'd just gotten myself killed. Would you? **

...**  
**

**Chapter 4** - A Way Out

...

Almost too late, Karin realized that her older brother was furious.

"What the hell happened? Why are you…? Why were you…?"

She closed her eyes, thinking with self-hate that she could have left the situation to her brother. She had known this, yet still had the conceit to go to the scene of the accident. Hanging her head, Karin whispered, "I just had a bad feeling… I… I…"

It was unlike Karin to make up excuses, or to stammer. Her uncharacteristic behavior was what finally snapped Ichigo out of his rage. It was then that Karin realized that his rage was almost preferable. The amount of regret and pain that flashed over Ichigo's face showed that he blamed himself for being too late to help her. Karin didn't want her older brother to feel that way, especially when she was completely responsible for her own foolish actions.

Eyes shadowed, Ichigo asked in a hollow voice, "Where's your body?"

With a faint trace of bitterness, Karin noticed that her brother wasn't bothering to hide his shinigami-side any longer. But she brushed the thought away wearily. Here she was, dead, and she was pettily worrying about Ichi-nii and his secrets. Unable to meet her older brother's eyes, Karin murmured, "At the department store; it's the place I went to check out after dinner."

Karin was hoping that someone hadn't just dragged her body away or thrown it in the dumpster. At least her body hadn't been lying in an open street, so it wouldn't have been run over by a car.

In a flash, Ichigo was gone. Had Karin been less preoccupied, she would have wondered how he could move as if he were teleporting himself.

Moments later, Ichigo reappeared beside Karin, carrying her limp physical body in his arms. Though he still looked disturbed and angry, this time, his eyebrows were furrowed with something else, which Karin recognized as contemplation. Only a slight trace of anger was left in his face.

"Your body isn't harmed… Did the hollow just separate you from your body, before it broke your chain of fate?"

Karin nodded, suppressing a rising feeling in the chest that strangely felt like a hiccup. After a moment silence, Ichigo slung Karin's body over his shoulder, and Karin's soul over the other. As Karin wriggled and struggled weakly, Ichigo tightened his hold, saying, "I'm taking to you Urahara-san. He'll help you."

Karin recognized the name; she knew Jinta and Ururu, who both worked at the Urahara Shop. They had killed hollows together and had fun in the process. It was a pity that her most recent hollow killing had no fun in it at all. Dying wasn't fun. It was traumatizing.

(A/N:Remember the kids + Don Kanonji? It's in a Bleach omake, and they go destroying hollows together! Jinta and Karin argued over who would be codename: Karakura Red...)

How much had the Ururu and Jinta changed and grown? They were pretty strong. They wouldn't have gotten killed...

But a tremendous weariness weighed over her, preventing further miscellaneous thoughts from taking root in her brain. All Karin could think about was that she was _dead_. Even worse, it was her _own_ fault. Help wasn't possible. Ichi-nii was a shinigami, shouldn't he know that? What was he thinking?

Then she felt a rush of wind as Ichigo took off towards where she supposed was the Urahara Shop.

...

Nearly unhinging the shoji screen door in the process, Ichigo barged into Urahara's Shop, shouting, "Urahara-san!"

Karin recognized the candy store as Yuzu's favorite. The lights reflected on candy wrappers and the shower of colors seemed to make up for the dinginess of the store itself. Glancing at the candy, Karin felt an aching familiarity, and actually wanted to eat one, before she remembered,_ 'Right, I can't eat. I'm dead.' _She was practically swimming with self pity, Karin dimly thought as she observed her own self._  
_

The screen door slid carefully open, and Ururu and Jinta peered out. Squinting, Jinta asked, "Yo, orange-boy. Something happen?"

Ichigo ignored the red-haired boy. Even the messy state of Jinta's hair failed to quirk a smile on Karin's lips. With as much grim good humor that she could muster, Karin said, "Yeah, brat. I'm dead, if you count that as 'something.'"

_'Oops, came out a little bitter, there.'_

Jinta looked at Karin, bewildered, as if he'd just realized there were two of her in her brother's arms. Karin almost rolled her eyes. Almost. Ichigo ignored the confused teenage boy and the nervous teenage girl and gently lowered Karin's rather hassled looking soul and her limp body down to the ground. Numbly, Karin stood up onto her own feet, noticed that she was now taller than Jinta and Ururu, though they had grown as well. Ururu seemed as shy as ever, but she eyed Karin and her chain of fate sadly.

When there was no sign of the shop owner's possible appearance, Ichigo took in a deeper breath to yell even louder.

"Uraha-"

"Yes, Ichigo-san?"

The shop owner, holding a white fan and wearing a white-and-green striped hat, was suddenly leaning against the doorway. Ichigo, taking Karin by the wrist, dragged the spirit of his younger sister up in front of Urahara.

"Please, Urahara-san. Karin's chain of fate got broken, but her body is unharmed… there's a way to save her, isn't there?"

Karin closed her eyes. She wished her brother would give up. Hell, she'd given up, and it was her life. Shouldn't a shinigami know better?

To her surprise, the man with platinum-blonde hair and (and a horrible taste in clothes, Karin vaguely thought) tilted his hat forward and sighed, "Though her spiritual pressure is admittedly strong, I'm surprised at you, Ichigo-san. I didn't think that you would suggest such a method."

This bald statement took Ichigo by surprise, and he looked taken aback. That very same statement, however, brought Karin's down to earth. Snapping out of her series of reveries, Karin wondered,_ 'What are they talking about?'_

She turned towards her older brother, a question in her eyes, but Ichigo was focused upon the shop owner, opening his mouth to protest.

"But -"

Tilting his head so that one keen, calculating eye showed beneath the brim of his _faux pas_ of a hat, Urahara quelled Ichigo's protest and instead asked him,

"Or have you forgotten the dangerous processes through which you attained your powers? Had you failed in any one of the many stages, we would have been forced to terminate you as we would have terminated any other hollow."

Ichigo drew back as if he had been stung, and to Karin, it was as if the puzzle pieces were slotting into place.

"So.. Ichi-nii… that power you have… the change in your spiritual power was from…"

_'The power of a hollow.'_

...

Karin couldn't bring herself to say it aloud. But she stared at her older brother in a slightly new light. Not fear, but simply understanding. She could hardly be scared of the Ichi-nii she had known for fourteen years. But Karin was finally getting answers to questions that she had harbored for three years. Now she knew why, three years ago, Ichigo had come back from his long-time disappearance, with tenfold of his spiritual power and without the aura of agitation and fear.

_'But I still don't get how that has anything to do being able to fix my current situation.'_

Ichigo looked ashamed of himself as he turned to Karin and said, "I'm sorry, Karin, I should have asked you first. I just assumed that you would want to live…"

Then it dawned on her. There was a way for her to live. Karin continued to stare at her older brother, but there was a glint of hopefulness in her eyes.

"So there is a way? That I can stay alive?"

Urahara smoothly cut into the rather strangled conversation with a, "There is a way. Ichigo-san went through the exact same process, his soul pulled out from his body and his chain of fate cut, in order to reattain his shinigami powers."

Ichigo made a protest.

"But… if she fails - "

Urahara quelled Ichigo with a look, and said, "She would still end up in Soul Society. However, if she succeeds, then she will be a shinigami, just like you."

Ichigo opened his mouth to protest one more time.

"But after that, the -"

Karin elbowed her brother in the stomach, cutting his argument off. He had suggested the idea first, and now he was getting cold feet? She wouldn't just stand and thrash around in angst over her death any longer. If there was a way for her to live, even if it was a slim chance, she'd take it.

"If there's even the smallest possibility for me to be able to continue living, then I'll do it. If I fail, at least I'll have tried."

She attempted a smile, her eyes shining with a strange mixture of determination as well as nervous uncertainty for what lay ahead of her. Placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her squarely in the eye, Ichigo said, "It's really dangerous, Karin. You could just go to…" A painful lump seemed to rise to his throat before he forced it down and continued on, "to Soul Society. And… live there peacefully. Become a shinigami the easy way."

Stubbornly, Karin shook her head and scowled at her older brother, "If I have any chances staying here, then I'll take them. I'm too young to die. Yuzu needs me." Swallowing, she continued, "If you could do it, then so can I. If there's even a shred of chance for me to go back to my body…"

She trailed off, but Ichigo saw that she meant it. Beneath his hat, Urahara smiled. Noticing the change in the shop-owner's expression, Karin frowned. Who's side was that man on, anyhow? First he talked as if he didn't want her to have to go through the 'dangerous process' but now that she had accepted it, suddenly he seemed… glad about her decision.

Snapping his fingers, the shop owner said, "Ururu, Jinta, Tessai, will you take Karin-san down to the basement?"

...

As Karin was led away, Urahara placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"She has as much potential as you did. She'll be fine. Go home and make your excuses. Your family must be worried by now."

With that, Urahara Kisuke swept off after his three workers, leaving Ichigo to brood worriedly.

...

...

A/N: What do you think of it so far? It'd be nice to have some more input...

And the next chapter, I think, will be really easy to write, since Kubo Tite already laid out the basework.

I'll be working in the different personalities of Karin and Ichigo, though, so watch for differences!


	5. In the Pit

**MY DRAWING OF KARIN: **

http:/crystallinex. deviantart. com/art/Kurosaki-Karin-68012972

(Just get rid of the spaces on both sides of 'deviantart.' It's really inconvenient how they won't let me put up links. o.o)

It's not that good, but shh... I worked hard on the line art and just colored it in about 10 minutes.

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite.

**A/N: **I decided to change the writing format. Because apparently the one I've been using for the past decade is incorrect. Ugh. It may look shorter, but trust me, it's my longest chapter yet in this series.

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

...

**Chapter 5** - In the Pit

...

It was gargantuan. Enormous. Mammoth. What seemed like kilometers of fake painted sky towered above a desert-like terrain, and random stones were scattered across the dry, crusty ground. There was even a dry, shriveled tree planted, she assumed, in the ground. Why anybody would plant a dead tree, she had no idea. While she stared at the tree, Urahara grinned. Even after he flipped open his fan and covered the lower half of his face, Urahara's grin was visible behind it.

"Welcome... to our humble basement."

Still looking at her surroundings, Karin thought, _'Humble my ass.'_

Folding his fan back up with a snap, Urahara bowed rather mockingly and said to Karin, "I notice that I've yet to introduce myself. My name is Urahara Kisuke, and as you can see, I'm simply a ordinary man that owns an ordinary small candy shop in which ordinary people work."

Karin wasn't even looking at Urahara while he introduced himself. She didn't even bother refuting his obviously false statements involving the overuse of the word, 'ordinary.'

_'Ordinary my ass.'_

But of course, she didn't say that out loud. Instead, she inquired, "You dug all this? Wait, before that… you actually went through the trouble of painting the ceiling to look like a sky? How is this place lighted, anyways?"

When she didn't get an answer, Karin turned to the shop-owner, only to find that he'd disappeared. Looking around, she instead saw Jinta stalking over to her. Seeing her raise her eyebrow at him, Jinta crossed his arms and said defensively, "It's not like I came to talk to you or anything... I just wanted to know... how's the goddess- I mean, Yuzu-san?"

(small reference to Kubo Tite's joke about Jinta's crush on Yuzu… Just a bunch of stuff involving poor 'Bostafu/Kon' and his stuffed lion-plushy body…)

About to ask Jinta how he knew Yuzu (and possibly why the hell he would call her a goddess) Karin remembered that Karakura was a small town, and that this sweet shop was Yuzu's favorite. Of course they would know each other. Then, Karin remembered that she had just died less than twenty minutes ago; and here she was, about to carry a conversation as if dying had been nothing. Which irritated her. She cropped her intended answer considerably, and settled on answering tritely, "Yuzu's fine."

After reminding herself of her current situation, Karin wasn't exactly in the mood for colloquies anymore. She was dead, no matter that it _could_ be fixed; she was entitled to brood on it a little, wasn't she? Death was supposed to be traumatizing. Not something just to be brushed off.

Jinta seemed to the notice the change in her mood, and muttered something about 'temperamental,' before clucking his tongue and saying a little more loudly, "Here you go."

He tossed several items towards Karin, who, in turn, caught them deftly before turning them over in her hands and examining them. White boxing gloves and matching head-gear. She guessed that they were for her to put on, so she slipped the gloves on with ease, but held the head-gear in bemusement.

Karin turned her head towards Jinta, the head-gear in question dangling from one gloved fist.

"How do I put this on?"

For some reason, Jinta laughed. Smiling a rather mischievous smile that immediately put Karin on guard, he called to Urahara, "Tenchou! (Shop Manager!) Come over here and teach Karin how to activate this thing!"

Urahara came seemingly out of nowhere, and, wearing a serious face, he instructed Karin, "So, Karin-san, to activate this headgear, you have to say, 'Take this, the power of righteousness! Righteous Armor, the Justice Headband!' "

Eye twitching, Karin bared her teeth and threw the head-gear, managing to hit Jinta head-on. She had been tempted to throw it at the store manager, but she didn't quite dare. (Jinta was the easier target, since she actually knew him.)

"I'll just fight without it then!"

Rubbing his head, Jinta tossed the head-gear back to Karin and groused, "Sheesh, so hot-tempered. You have no sense of humor."

When Karin shot him a venomous look, Jinta held up his two hands in defense and hurriedly continued, "Alright, just hold it to your forehead, press the buttons on the end and the sides will snap together."

That sounded more reasonable. After Karin followed the directions, vowing never to trust the shop-owner, Ururu appeared before her, wearing similar gear, with a mushroom-like hat and thick gloves.

...

Seeing that everybody was ready, waving his fan around, Urahara smiled.

"So, Karin-san, let's start with lesson one. Your goal is to try and hit Ururu!"

It sounded simple. Except Karin knew it wasn't. Her thoughts were only confirmed when Ururu looked at her feet and murmured, "I hope you can avoid me."

Karin grimaced. Ururu had been a comrade of sorts to Karin; she had seen Ururu's power during random hollow-killing sprees with Jinta and Don Kanonji. Grinning rather nervously, Karin said with more conviction than she felt, "Don't go easy on me, now."

Taking a boxer stance, Karin experimentally punched at the air.

_'Damnit… __I __prefer __kicking…'_

Before Karin knew it, Ururu was rushing towards her with frightening speed, kicking up a cloud of dust behind her pattering feet. Jumping back to avoid Ururu's first blow, Karin's eyes widened at how the ground crumbled like tofu beneath after coming to contact with Ururu's gloved fist. Landing awkwardly on her own gloved fists before landing painfully on her tail-bone, Karin discovered just how inconvenient the gloves were. Meanwhile, Ururu was running towards her for a second attack. In the last second, Karin shed the gloves, and tried to back-flip away from Ururu's punch. However, Karin faltered. Ururu's fist was closing in onto her face, and Karin didn't want to think about how her face would look after that. At the last second, Karin contracted her neck to duck from the blow.

After avoiding the second blow, it only seemed to go downhill, as Karin was forced to roll away from Ururu's hailstorm of punches.

...

Urahara seemed to find Karin's rather degrading defensive tactics rather amusing, in a deadpan way.

"You were the one who told her not to go easy on you, you know…"

Finally finding the strength and agility to perform the back-flip, (though not quite the energy needed to counter the shop owner's infuriatingly ironic comments) Karin, considerably dustier and dirtier than before, ducked another blow. Tapping into her (rather plentiful) store of fighting techniques incorporating the use of her legs, Karin crouched low and swept out her foot in a circular motion. Ururu avoided the leg-sweep by jumping, but she was wide open from her right, and Karin leaped back up to her feet to execute a roundhouse kick, managing to knock off Ururu's head-gear.

In a flash, Urahara and Tessai were there, Urahara holding Ururu's mushroom-like-headgear, and Tessai, picking up Karin's gloves. Grinning, Urahara declared, "Alright, lesson one, cleared!"

Confused, Karin protested, "But I haven't been able to land a single blow her yet…" But her protest was half-hearted, and she had yanked off the head-gear already. One round against Ururu had been enough, she thought privately.

Smiling in his sly way, Urahara explained, "Lesson one was just to see to what extent you could extend your spiritual powers. When you are a soul and out of your body, it is naturally harder to move around, and most souls resort to floating, without much motor control, incapable of moving with any sort of speed. However, if you are agile enough to avoid Ururu's punches, then that means you soul and your spiritual powers are ready for Lesson Two."

...

Would they make her fight Jinta next? Was he really more powerful than Ururu? Karin was pondering the idea, when Tessai, who had been standing behind her, suddenly murmured, "Binding Spell 99... Kin."

Feeling a some sort of restriction come upon her arms, Karin wanted to resist, but her arms were already pinned together behind her back. "Wh- what's going on?" Karin asked, bewildered. Did this have something to do with the 'Lesson Two' that the shopkeeper had mentioned?

In his deep voice, Tessai continued, "Forgive me, Karin-san, but I will be restraining your arms for this lesson."

Without warning, Urahara pushed Karin's shoulder, sending her stumbling back… and falling into a huge pit that she hadn't noticed before.

"-…."

Turning to Ururu, Urahara remarked, "I said this last time, I know, but this pit is very… very deep."

...

"Oof!"

Ouch. Landing in a ungodly deep pit on one's back - soul-state or not - was painful. Then Karin was glad she was in soul state. Had she been in her body, she would probably have broken her neck or back. Neither of which seemed very appealing.

Peering over the edge, looking a bit like a green and white speck against the _faux_ blue sky, Urahara called down, "In Lesson two, you will have to get out of the 'Shattered Shaft' without the use of your arms."

Karin, stiff from falling down that huge distance, glared back up at Urahara. "Damn you! This hole is some fifty meters deep! And you've named it 'Shattered Shaft'? What's with that creepy name!"

"Well, if you need some added incentive, once your chain of fate is eroded to your chest, you'll become a hollow. In the Shattered Shaft, the 'corrosion' is accelerated; it will only take 72 hours - 3 days - for the chain to completely erode." Was Urahara's snappy reply to Karin's string of denouncements.

Jinta said in a stage whisper to Ururu, "You notice how he doesn't deny that the name of the pit is creepy."

Karin stared back up at the speck of what she supposed was the shop-owner. That man had to be crazy. Three days was such a long time. And if she wasn't able to get out by three days, wouldn't she starve or dehydrate by then? And what the hell was 'corrosion?' Well, she'd get out of the tunnel, to avoid turning into a hollow, and avoid starving to death.

Maybe she would use her mouth instead of her arms to climb up?

...

While she pondered different escape routes (which all amounted to virtually nothing) it was a sudden hissing noise and an ripping pain that started from the center of her chest and rippled through her whole body that made Karin look at the chain at her chest. What she saw almost made her sick. The links of the chain had each split into several mouth that were gnawing, ripping and tearing at each other.

By the time the spasms of pain had left her body, Karin saw that her chain of fate was half a link shorter. Gasping, Karin shouted to Urahara, "What kind of sadist are you! What the hell is this!"

Though she could no longer see Urahara himself, Karin heard his voice faintly answer, "So you've experienced the first corrosion… "

Great, now she knew what it was called. And each time, her chain of fate would grow shorter? Recalling what Urahara had said earlier, Karin groaned. "So when the chain corrodes to my chest, I become a hollow!"

"Well, I'll give you a hint. The only way to get out of the tunnel is to become a shinigami." Karin heard no sympathy in Urahara's matter-of-fact voice.

And he hadn't denied her claim that he was a sadist.

_'Dear god...'_

Rolling over onto her back to project her voice properly, Karin growled, "What type of bleeding hint is that!"

So if the only way to get out was to become a shinigami first, Karin's (rather stupid) idea of making footholds and teething up to the top wouldn't work. The idea of sinking her teeth into dirt hadn't been so appealing anyways.

Exhaling sharply, Karin's head fell back with a dull thump against the ground. Then she suddenly remembered that this had been her choice… her will to live. She would get out of this hole, no matter what it took.

...

Just one more chapter of this repetitive stuff, I promise.


	6. Hanging Gardens

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite!

Thanks to my reviewers!

**Note:** I'm still not sure whether I want to keep this new format (no matter how correct it is) or not. Reading it this way makes me tired, since my computer screen is so wide.

And I just decided to write this up as quickly as possible, just to get it over with, to get to _my_ plot quickly... Muhahahaha...

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

...

**Chapter 6** - Hanging Gardens

...

"I'll get out of this hole… no matter what it takes…"

Karin panted and stared up at the small circle of fake blue sky above her, and suddenly sat up.

"...is what I said... but HOW!"

She had already endured countless spasms of the 'corrosion,' and her chain of fate was becoming dishearteningly short. Only five-and-a-half links remained.

And the idea of somehow managing to escape from the hole seemed long gone and out of reach. Running up the sides of the wall had proved futile after a few attempts. The walls were perfectly vertical and impossible to climb up without the use of hands. In fact, even _with_ her hands, Karin wasn't sure if she'd have been able to climb out. And she had no idea how to become a shinigami, either. If she had, why would she have gone through these 'Lessons' in the first place?

Her arms were either numb or falling asleep. Grimacing, Karin turned over, to rest on her stomach, propping her chin against the ground uncomfortably.

So Karin just sat in the dark pit for what seemed like ages, waiting for the spasms to come and go, every once in a while yelling obscenities up at the stupid sandal-hat guy that had shoved her down the hell-pit in the first place.

...

Then suddenly, Jinta leaned over the edge of the hole, and Karin yelled hoarsely up to him, "Whaddya want, brat?"

He looked a bit worried. Had something bad happened? (How much worse could it get?) It occurred to Karin that she probably looked like crap, covered with dirt and pouring cold sweat. Then, with a scraping sound and a hailstorm of dirt and dust, he clambered and slid down the vertical slope, jumping to land beside her. He crouched beside her, and she asked again, "What?"

"Nothing… just… you aren't hungry yet, are you?"

Karin coughed and shot back, "Not a chance. I'm in too much stinking pain to be hungry. I am thirsty, though." Her voice alone betrayed the dryness of her throat.

_'Ugh... I really shouldn't be talking.'_

Looking even more uncomfortable, Jinta mumbled, "That's good for you, I guess."

Catching the wrathful look on Karin's face, Jinta hastily added, "About not being hungry, I mean. When you start getting hungry, that means you're about to turn into a hollow."

Karin sighed tiredly and said sarcastically, "Good to know. I'll keep that in mind."

Jinta furrowed his brow. As if she knew what he was thinking about, Karin abruptly asked, "How much time have I got left?"

"Today's the third day."

Karin managed a weak laugh.

"Not surprising. I'm staring up at a painted sky, of course I can't tell what time it is. Come to think of it, I'm really tired too…"

She felt her eyelids closing, and didn't make much of an effort to fight the drowsiness closing in. Maybe it would hurt less if she were asleep. She didn't hear Jinta climb back out of the pit.

...

And opened her eyes to pure pain. Biting back a cry for what seemed like a thousandth time since she had fallen down the pit, Karin breathed heavily, and fought to loosen her arms from the binding spell. She had to free her arms. She had to get out of the pit.

"Rrgh… Let. Me. Go!"

Arching her back as if it would make the corrosion of her chain hurt less, Karin grit her teeth. A strangled cry escaped through her throat. Summoning what courage she had left, Karin looked down at the remaining links of her chain of fate. They were all devouring each other. It was over. Several emotions and feelings swept over her. Pain, anger, regret… and hunger. It was the last feeling that made her scream.

"No!"

As she hunched forward, as if attempting to ward off the hunger and pain, Karin saw with growing horror, the last link fall away and crumble.

"NO!"

Then everything in her peripheral vision seemed to go white, before going completely black.

_"Karin__."_

Hearing a voice call her name, Karin opened her eyes once before shutting them tightly again. Opening her eyes one more time, she found herself staring at some strange type of step-pyramid covered with trees and waterfalls from above. It looked rather like the renditions of Hanging Gardens of Babylon made real. But then, Karin realized that she was lying down. Feeling disorientated, she sat up, half-expecting to feel the blood rush to her head. But she felt normal. When she realized that it was the Hanging Gardens themselves that were suspended from the skies, Karin shook her head, not unlike a the way a dog would have shaken off a flea, and looked at what she was sitting on.

Nothing.

When it hit her, Karin widened her eyes and started flailing her arms.

"Augh! I'm gonna fall!"

She then covered her eyes with her hands as if that would protect her from splattering against the ground in a pile of bones and flesh. Ew. Wait. There wasn't even a ground. Would she just fall forever?

_"Not__ quite. __You_are _sitting __on_ something, _never__ mind __that __it's __just a __combination__ of __gases__ and __elements.__"_

It was that same voice again. This time, the voice sounded amused. Feeling a bit foolish, Karin peeled her hands off her eyes cautiously. She wasn't falling.

"Where… Who…?"

_"Up__ here.__"_

Naturally, Karin looked up to see, again, the intimidating and magnificent gardens hanging above her. It was then she spotted a figure dressed in a red hakama of sorts, sitting… or hanging… on the tip of the pyramid. He was looked about her age, with dark brown hair cropped messily around his ears, framing pointy features.

_"Ah__, so __you __see __me __now.__"_

Nothing made sense. One minute, Karin was sure that she would be turning into a grotesque hollow, and the next, she was sitting on air in an upside down world, and sharing the semblance of a conversation with some guy. Laughing, the boy said,_ "Don't try and think about it too much. You'll hurt yourself."_

She didn't find the comment offensive, but reassuring. Karin stared, and asked, "Who are you?"

The boy looked a bit saddened before he sighed and replied,_ "I__ guess__ it's __no __big __surprise __you __don't __recognize __me. Technically, __this _is _the __first __time __you've__ seen __me.__"_

Before Karin could give any sort of retort on how obvious that was, the boy continued on,_ "You're__ a __big __crybaby, __you __know __that, __Kurosaki__ Karin? __It's __always __so __stormy __and __rainy __in this world. __You know how ridiculous it is when it rains upward? You're__ lucky __you're __here now, __when__ the __weather'__s actually __good__. Which is a miracle, considering the situation you're in right now."_

At this Karin opened her mouth and shot back, "For your information, I've only cried once for the last nine years. I never cried after…"

The shadow of a grin that had been faintly visible on the boy's face, disappeared completely. Karin felt, rather than saw, the sky beneath her become rather cloudy. Running his hands through his hair irritably, the boy stood and jumped towards where Karin sat, flipping so that he, too, was standing on the sky.

Gritting her teeth, Karin demanded, "How do you know me anyway? Who are you?"

The dark-haired boy before Karin stared at her unblinkingly before saying,_ "You know me. I'm -."_

Karin frowned. The last thing he had said had come out garbled and strange; unrecognizable. Did she really know the boy before her?

Scowling as if he could read her thoughts, the boy made an impatient noise in his throat and growled, _"Enough __of __this. It was foolish of me to try so early. __We're __low __on __time, anyway. __In__ less __than __a __minute__, this __world __is __going __to __start __crumbling __apart. So I'll just tell you what you need to know. Long story short, y__our __shinigami __powers __are __here __somewhere __and __you __have __to __find __it__ before __this__ world __deteriorates __completely.__"_

Ah, how Karin liked direct statements. No beating around the bush. No sugar-coating. Karin didn't need to be told what would happen when the world deteriorated completely… She would turn into a hollow.

But she didn't know hot to find her shinigami powers, and she tried to say as much.

"How the hell am I supposed to - "

But the boy was suddenly gone and nowhere to be seen. Then, starting from the tips of the hanging gardens, the upside-down world began to fall into pieces.

...

Karin began, for what seemed the fiftieth time in the past few days, to panic. Slowly but surely, the world of the hanging gardens was falling apart into what seemed like little wisps of air that managed to retain some sort of cloud-like shape for mere moments before they were blown apart.

Karin realized, that at the rate the the the world of hanging gardens was falling apart, her shinigami powers would be destroyed before she could even start to look for them. What would shinigami powers look like? She drew a blank. How the heck was she supposed to know? Desperately, she cast different memories of when she had watched shinigami and hollows fight. What had she noticed, what did she know? She came up with nothing; she was no longer even suspended in the air. She was falling.

Gritting her teeth, Karin tried, as a last ditch attempt, to visualize her spiritual powers. Then, as if the wisps of gas had been waiting, they, all of a sudden, unfurled into long white strips of what Karin could tell were spirit threads. Even then, the threads were blown apart by the turbulent winds.

Karin was pretty good at deduction. She supposed her shinigami powers would somehow be different, but she had no idea how. Okay, maybe her powers of deduction weren't _that_ great. Maybe she didn't deserve to be a shinigami if she couldn't even tell. Then, a flash of red caught her eye. Hoping it was the red-garbed-boy from earlier, Karin called out, "Oi!"

Though it gave no answer, the flash of red seemed to be weaving its way towards Karin. It was then that Karin realized that the red was not the boy, but another spirit thread. Instinctively, Karin stretched out a hand and grabbed onto it.

The next flash of red that appeared was the boy from before. He was smiling an almost gentle smile.

_"Good __job, __crybaby. __I__ knew __you __could __do __it.__"_

After ruffling Karin's shoulder-length hair, the boy abruptly disappeared, only leaving the echo,_ "Let's__ work __well __together__ from __now.__"_

As the echo faded, Karin realized that she was no longer holding a crimson spirit thread, but a sword.

...

A/N: Sigh... Chapter finally finished. Comments appreciated! .


	7. Shinigami's Lives have Glitches

**Disclaimer:** Bleach is the creation of Kubo Tite.

**Note: **Reviews help motivate me. Criticism helps me to write better, I need those. To those of you who review regularly, I love you. Just wanted you guys to know. )

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**NOTE:** And for those of you who ended up reading chapter 5 when you were trying to read chapter 4... I've fixed it. I dunno how that happened. T.T... I'm sorry. It wasn't like that when I first posted it, so it must have been a glitch. . which brings me to the title of this chapter... heheh.

...**  
**

**Chapter 7** - Shinigami's Lives have Glitches

...

When she came back to consciousness, Karin wasn't - as she had expected to be - lying in a dark and deep pit, but instead lying in a large, smoking crater. Her peripheral vision was obscured by something. Putting a hand to her face and groaning, Karin felt her fingers contact something hard, and definitely not flesh. Alarmed, she ripped off whatever was on her face, and stared; it was white mask that had been covering her face. It reminded her eerily of a hollow's mask. So she had become a hollow after all? But she didn't feel like a hollow... she didn't feel the abnormal tug of mental hunger, just a dull ache in her stomach due to lack of food for over three days.

It was then that Karin slowly sat up and looked down at herself. Not only had a mask appeared on her face (though the said mask was now discarded at her side), but a black hakama had appeared on her body as well. At her left was a sheathed sword.

Almost gingerly, Karin picked it up. It was heavier than she expected, and she had to stiffen her arms to keep herself from dropping it on her kneecaps.

"Karin-san!"

The high-pitched voice belonged Ururu, who was running towards Karin, her sandals clapping up little clouds of dust behind her. Walking with considerable more deliberateness after her, was Urahara, followed by Jinta and Tessai. Just the sight of familiar people was enough to make Karin release the tension she hadn't been aware that she was holding.

"I'm… out of... the damn… hole…."

Was all Karin managed to say before she fell back into unconsciousness.

Tessai picked up the fourteen year-old girl up with ease, while Urahara bent to retrieve the zanpakutou that Karin had dropped as she lost consciousness. Examining its threaded-hilt of dark red, he smiled beneath his green-and-white hat.

...

The room that Karin woke up in was small and cozy, and the blanket that covered her was warm. Blinking blearily, Karin groaned. She snuggled under the covers more, and buried her face into the pillow. "Ugh... I need to be unconscious."

Abruptly, Karin returned to her senses; she wasn't in her own bed, but lying on a futon. Reluctantly, but quickly, Karin scrambled out of her pocket of warmth. She suppressed a shudder as the warm blanket enveloping her body fell away, exposing her arms and face to the not-so-warm air in the room. But more importantly, Karin examined herself, and found that she was wearing her shirt and sweatpants again. Which meant that she was back inside her body. Her flesh and bone body. An ecstatic grin spread over Karin's face, and she all but yelled, "I'm alive! I'm still alive!"

Alarmed by the noise, Ururu and Jinta slid open the shoji doors, wondering what was going on. Jinta, looking irritated, observed dully, "Oh, you're awake."

"How are you feeling?" That was Ururu, who voice was considerably softer and much more pleasant than Jinta's had been.

Still grinning from ear-to-ear, Karin replied, "I feel alive!"

Karin froze in her ecstatic gesticulations when Ururu informed her, "Kisuke-san told us he wanted to see you when you woke up."

After moments of hesitation - that sadistic shop-owner had put her through a quite the store of pain, even if it had saved her life in the long run - Karin nodded. "Alright."

But as she was about to go through the open shoji screen, Karin's stomach suddenly growled. Though she was a little bit embarrassed, Karin turned back to Ururu and Jinta and asked, "Hey, you guys got anything to eat here? I haven't eaten in four days..."

Jinta ushered her out the door and said, "Yeah yeah, we've taken care of a lot of freeloaders before, so don't worry about the food; go talk to Urahara-san and there'll be food when you come back."

Scowling, Karin said, "Are you suggesting I'm a freeloader? You guys haven't fed me even once, let alone spare me a drop of water in the last few days I've been here! I'm parched!"

But even whilst protesting, she walked out the door of the small room, to the main part of the shop.

...

The shop owner stood waiting for Karin amidst the candy buckets, his left hand curled around the curve of a cane. He had his back to her.

"Umm... Urahara-san?"

At Karin's entrance, he twirled around, and unexpectedly, thrust his cane out to hit the center of her forehead.

Slightly dazed, Karin both felt and saw her soul separate from her body. It was rather unnerving, and she wondered if that was how her brother felt every time he switched to his shinigami form. She watched her body teeter and keel over, and fall backwards onto its head. As she saw her body's head collide with the floor, Karin winced; even if she couldn't feel it now, she would definitely feel that when she got back into her body.

Her spirit form was wearing a black hakama again, and a weight at her left of her pelvis told her that she had a sword there as well. Absently rubbing the area of her forehead that Urahara's cane had pressed, Karin made a face.

"So this is what I have to go through each time I want to turn into a shinigami?"

Though Urahara absently nodded to her question; it was obvious that was not the focus of his intended conversation. His eyes seemed to be looking at…

"Your zanpakutou… your sword... is very powerful, Karin-san."

The shop-keeper's formalities seemed tripped over something at the back of her mind, rather like an itch that wouldn't quite go away, no matter how much you scratched it. It irked her, but the man intimidated her too much for her to comment on it. So Karin kept that to herself.

Unhitching her zanpakutou from her side, Karin asked, "So that's what this sword is called? A zanpakutou?"

Sliding the sword experimentally out of its sheath, Karin couldn't see anything too special about it, besides that it was very sharp and shiny.

"I have homework for you, Karin-san."

That completely threw her off. "Huh? Homework?"

There was a hint of a smile playing at the shopkeepers lips. "Next time we meet, tell me about your sword."

Turning tail, he disappeared behind one of the countless shoji screens in the shop. His last comment had her poleaxed. What was there to tell? It was... heavy?

Karin stood there for some time before she looked at her still physical body and wondered out loud, "How the heck do I get back into my body?"

...

After a bit of experimentation, which somehow ended up with three buckets of spilled candy and a new experience of rather painfully slamming into the floor, Karin was finally able to get back into her body. She still wasn't quite sure how she did it, only that when she was back, she was lying spread eagle on the cold floor of the Urahara Shop, surrounded by candy.

Hastily, before the others saw what a mess she had made, Karin scooped up the mess of candy and piled them back into the bins. Karin wondered whether anybody would notice if she just took one candy. Well. Not just one. Maybe several. She was _hungry_.

After an alarmingly brief internal struggle (Karin now doubted her integrity as a human being) she swiped a handful of candy from the nearest bin and stashed them in the pockets of her sweatpants, Karin remembered that Jinta and Ururu would be waiting for her with food. Brightening considerably, Karin dashed back to the small room in which Jinta and Ururu were setting out a low, rectangular table and the silverware.

Eager to eat, Karin promptly sat on the floor and said, "So who makes the food around here?"

The door slid open wide behind her, and Tessai appeared, his reflective glasses managing to make him look even more imposing than he already did with his large body.

"Why, I do."

Karin didn't stop to ponder the supposed strangeness of a burly man wearing a apron and cooking in the kitchen. (though it was a bit... different from Yuzu) She had never been much of one for stereotypes, anyways. Not when she was such a tomboy.

Though it may have been thanks to her hungry stomach, Karin found the food very tasty, and said as much.

"Not that I'm a connoisseur, but this is really good. Natto always made me sick, but I can actually eat these."

(A/N: yes... I'm sorry for those of you who like Natto - fermented beans... I don't. I think they are nasty.)

Tessai bowed to her. "What a wonderful reaction..." He blew his nose, which took Karin aback.

...

Karin was adjusting her shoelaces at the front of the shop, getting ready to go back home. She hoped dearly that her older brother had made acceptable excuses. She was just about to leave when she heard someone call her name.

"Oi, Karin!"

Karin felt cheerful; the prospect of going home, no matter how weird her family was, was pleasant. Therefore, her answer was cheerful. "Yes, brat?"

The red-haired boy scowled and tossed something to Karin, growling, "Don't call me brat!"

Snatching the projected object out of the air with her right hand, Karin looked from the object to Jinta questioningly. It looked like a small candy dispenser, with a strange bunny-head at the top. Karin read the label. "Soul Candy?"

Looking at Jinta as if he'd grown a third head, Karin asked, "What the hell is this? I don't need any more cavities. Besides, the name's really cheesy."

No way in hell would she admit that she'd already stolen some candy from the shop.

Rolling his eyes in an irritated manner, (wait, can you roll your eyes in a manner that isn't irritated?) Jinta grumbled, "You'll need these. I don't feel like explaining, so just swallow one."

Firmly squishing the head of the bunny with her thumb, Karin caught the green spherical candy that popped out of the candy dispenser. She eyed it critically. "This isn't a laxative or anything, is it?"

Jinta shook his head.

"I won't die after I eat it, will I?"

Another shake of the head, accompanied by an exasperated sigh.

Karin still had some misgivings, and she held the green pill at eye-level and examined it. Finally growing tired of Karin's suspicions, Jinta took the pill away from her, and practically jammed it down her throat.

And Karin's soul burst from her body, and she found herself staring at her body, which blinked innocently at her before practically jumping on her.

"Karin-sama!"

Sandwiched between the floor and her candy-occupied-body, Karin took out her confusion (and irritation) on Jinta. "What the hell is this!"

Jinta scratched his head a bit before saying, "Uh, something that'll take care of your body while you're off doing shinigami stuff?"

"I'm not just something, da-pyon! I'm Chappy, da-pyon!"

Karin threw 'Chappy' off of her back and asked Jinta in a rather threatening way, "Now that I get what the hell Soul Candy is for, tell me: How do I get back into my body!"

Already having turned his back on her, Jinta replied, "Just step back into your body. And I'm giving that to you for free, so you owe me."

"Owe you what, brat?"

Looking over his shoulder with slightly pink cheeks, Jinta muttered, "Bring Yuzu-san over sometime. She likes candy, doesn't she?"

_ 'You'd think he'd had a crush on Yuzu…'_ Karin thought as she left the shop.

...

(Sorry guys, no female Kon. Or, a male Mod Soul that is horrified at getting stuck in Karin's body. I wanted to try and keep away from Ichigo's version of how things went.)_  
_

...

_**Soul Society: Research Institute**_

"Any updates on the daily monitors?"

"Sir, there has just been a sudden upsurge of spiritual pressure in Karakura."

Ukon sighed. The area that was rumored to be Aizen's harvest target, for reasons unknown to someone of his rank. What he knew he had overheard from the 12th division captain. "That town again? What the hell is up with that place... Let me take a look."

What the scientist saw took him aback. He drew in a sharp breath as his eyes meandered over the graph on the monitor, quickly focusing on the sharp spike in the already abnormally-high spiritual density of Karakura.

"What the..."

His subordinate quipped unhelpfully, "And the source of the spiritual pressure is unknown. It's not a shinigami's, and it's not a hollow's either."

Gritting his teeth, Ukon replied, "We need report this to the Commander."

...

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** **I have narrowed down Karin's possible pairings to between two guys. And I think I've decided, but all I wanted you to know was that the pairing will be decided by the next chapter, and unchangeable from there on out. You guys can take your best shots to try and influence my decision by tomorrow... All I can say is... You Hitsu/karin fans... This is your last chance...**


	8. First Encounters

**Disclaimer:** Bleach is the creation of Kubo Tite.

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

There are no spoilers for the anime-watchers.

**A/N: Wow, really sliced me in two there, you Hitsu/Karin fans and Karin/non-hackneyed-pairing people. O.O But I've finally come to the decision, that as long as it doesn't affect my writing style, who Karin's "soul-mate" is doesn't matter. I have all of my plot skeleton ready, and it's Karin-centric. Romance just adds flavor to this fanfic.**

I'll keep my writing quality, and I hope that that's all that matters. I promise I won't go all mushy on you guys (in the beginning, at least). I like working up the relationships in my stories, starting from square one. Not square ten.

(And ADDVengeance, I actually _did_ consider Jinta. But I didn't like him enough to give him Karin. And KiKi Hayashi... have no fear... I don't support incest.)

...

**Chapter 8** - First Encounters

...

_**Soul Society: Seireitei**_

The last three years, in general, had been hectic; this, a certain silver-haired captain knew only too well. All the seated officers in the Gotei Thirteen Divisions had been wearing themselves thin trying to hold their own against the Arrancar. Hitsugaya Toushirou could have sworn that all the stress had stunted his growth. But he'd still managed to sprout up over the past few years, and it was about time, too.

Just then, he had been working on the paperwork that his lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku had conveniently left behind for him. Growling and ruffling his hands through his spiky hair, Toushirou abruptly stood up. His need for fresh air dominated his preference of finishing the paperwork on time.

Toushirou had cooled down somewhat by the time he'd arrived at the nearest snack-stand near the shinigami-community center. Looking down at the choice of snacks, Hitsugaya grimaced. They were packaged in such small quantities that he couldn't believe that some shinigami could actually be sustained with such little food. Granted, Toushirou's appetite was big; years ago, he had consumed watermelons in their halves while Hinamori Momo had nibbled at her tiny slices.

Finally, after looking over the selection of foods critically (by size, of course), the boy selected a pack of ten ham-sized rice-balls and paid for it, opening it almost immediately and gobbling them down with a sort of vengeance.

Three-quarters through his pack of rice-balls, Toushirou was walking past the Shinigami Research Institute. Observant as usual, the young captain noticed that the institute seemed even more rowdy than usual. A couple of explosions here and there were nothing big; those were expected. But that day, researchers were rushing in and out carrying papers and files.

Pausing in both his eating and walking, Toushirou stopped and stared at what was starting to resemble a bee hive, wondering what had happened. As he finished off his eighth rice-ball at a considerably slower pace, every once in a while, he heard snatches of conversations, containing words like,

"-Karakura…"

"-spiritual pressure - "

"-…upsurge."

Toushirou's eyes widened and he shoved the remaining two rice-balls into the hands of a randomly passing shinigami, and ignoring the shinigami's confused stammer of thanks, Toushirou headed towards the entrance of the research institute.

Karakura city was Aizen's target for the creation of the King's Key. Had the traitor already made his move?

"We'll have to contact the Tenth Division to dispatch -"

The commander broke off mid-speech as Toushirou strode purposefully into the center of the research room, where the commander, Yamamoto, had been talking to Ukitake Jyuushirou, the thirteenth division captain. It was the first time Toushirou hadn't bothered to look around and admire the dilapidated, but impressive headquarters of the research institute, in its glory of wall-sized monitors and plethora of dials and controls.

Both men turned to the youth.

"Hitsugaya-taichou."

The inclination of the Toushirou's head, indicating respect for the head captain, was only perfunctory. The tenth division captain looked searchingly from Ukitake to Yamamoto. After a moment of silence, the commander said, "This saves us time. Hitsugaya-taichou, a situation has arisen in Karakura town. From the looks of your face, I suspect you've already gathered as much."

Toushirou nodded tersely.

Ukitake gestured towards the monitor behind him, which displayed the sharp upward spike in spiritual density per square kilometer. Toushirou quickly pieced the puzzle pieces together and narrowed his eyes. "There is a new spiritual entity in Karakura town that is neither a shinigami, nor a hollow."

The thirteenth division captain seemed to hesitate to say something. Quickly, the commander gave Ukitake a slightly patronizing look before finishing for him, "We need you, Hitsugaya-taichou, to put together a emergency dispatch team, preferably composed of seated officers. We can't afford to take any chances. As long as we don't know whether this new variable is an ally or an enemy, we must be prepared to eliminate any threats."

...

Abarai Renji had sensed something was up when he had been walking past the twelfth division Shinigami's Research Institute to look for Rukia in the thirteenth division.

The research institute seemed to be in a flurry. Curious, Renji went to ask one of the researchers scurrying by what was going on, when he almost bumped into a shorter figure with silver hair.

"Abarai."

Hastily bowing, Renji addressed the boy, "Hitsugaya-taichou." Straightening his back and quirking an eyebrow, Renji asked, "What are you doing here?"

Wearing an irritable expression on his face, Toushirou replied, "I could ask the same of you." Then, Toushirou's face expression turned serious. "I was about to go look for you anyway. The Commander asked me to set up an emergency dispatch to the real world. There's something we need to check out in Karakura town."

Renji wasn't too surprised, considering that the whole research institute seemed to be a chaotic mess. But…"A whole emergency dispatch?"

Glancing around as if he were afraid to be overhead, the tenth division captain lowered his voice and explained, "There's been a considerable increase in spiritual energy levels in Karakura, and it's just from one spiritual entity. Its loyalties are unknown. All we know is that the spiritual pressure is similar to Kurosaki Ichigo's in both caliber and texture."

Renji frowned. "All that tension because of a new vaizard? They don't bother us; and it's in their interest to oppose the arrancar as well. Besides, Ichigo's helping us."

Rolling one crystal-blue eye over to the taller lieutenant, Toushirou clarified, "The entity isn't a vaizard. At least, not yet. And I've been told that we should eliminate any hint of a threat. The commander's not willing to take any chances."

"So you want me to accompany you? Who else will be in the emergency dispatch?"

"Just me, you, Matsumoto, and Kuchiki Rukia, since she knows the area best." Was Toushirou's answer.

"I'll go and explain the situation to her then. I was on my way to see her anyways." Renji offered.

"Make it quick. We meet at the gate to the human world as quickly as possible. This is a race against Aizen's men."

With that, Toushirou raced back to his division.

...

_(Hinting at IchixRuki just for the heck of it. Haha)_

_"So we're going to Karakura?"_

_Renji quickly answered, "Yeah. We'll probably have to tell Ichigo and the others about this too."_

_Grinning, Rukia asked, "So we're going today?"_

_"As soon as possible…" Renji couldn't hold back his irritation. The prospect of reuniting with her human friends seemed to be eclipsing the more important issue at hand. "…but you don't seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. This new 'entity' could be some sort of threat or something!"_

_Regaining her somber attitude within a matter of seconds, Rukia stood, strapped her zanpakutou to her waist, and replied seriously, "We'll have to find out, won't we?"_

...

_**Real World: Karakura Town** _

Karin ran all the way home, convinced that the world was good. Except for hollows. And murder. And other heinous crimes. And homework. And not knowing things.

But for now, those things were trivial; Karin was alive and kicking, and damn happy about it. But before she could reach out and open the door to her home, someone else threw it open for her, narrowly missing her nose. Karin found herself staring at her brother's brown eyes.

"Ichi-nii…"

Suddenly, Ichigo enveloped his younger sister in a hug. Gripping her tightly, he whispered, "You're alive…"

Karin hugged back, relaxing in her brother's arms. Everything was alright...

Suddenly placing his hands on her shoulders, Ichigo leaned back to examine her thoroughly. When he was satisfied with her physical condition, he seemed to revert back to his usual self.

"You really need to take a shower, you know that? I suppose you were lying in that horrible pit for three days or so…" Then his smile faded and he asked, "You're okay, aren't you?"

Karin felt a stab of pain when she saw her brother's face expression.

_'He must have been dying with worry…'_ She thought.

Smiling warmly, she said, "Never felt better, see?"

Flexing her biceps, Karin continued, "I've gotten a lot stronger too! Now I can go and help you - " She stopped mid-sentence when her twin appeared at the door.

"Yuzu…"

Yuzu, too, dove for Karin and wrapped her arms around her.

"Karin-chan! You're back! How was soccer camp?" Yuzu then proceeded to pout, "You could have told me, even if you didn't want to tell Daddy. We're not _that_ worried about you becoming a tomboy, you know."

Well. So that was the excuse that Ichigo had made up for her. Karin couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry. Next time, I'll be sure to tell you."

"You'd better. Come on, we have to get ready for school!"

The twins had been walking peaceably to school when a enormous amount of spiritual pressure fell upon them both. The enormity of the spiritual pressure seemed to weigh upon the air, Karin staggered. Alarmed, Karin looked at Yuzu. She was on the ground, her eyes were wide and blank.

Immediately, Karin pulled out the Soul Candy from the pocket of her Phys. Ed. pants, pressed the bunny and popped the green candy into her mouth.

Her soul burst forth from her body, and Karin found herself wearing her shinigami uniform again. She placed a hand on the hilt of her zanpakutou, which she found cold to her touch.

"Chappy, take my sister back home!"

Chappy, now occupying Karin's body, grabbed Yuzu and rushed to obey.

Before Karin's very eyes, a pair of shoji screen doors appeared, sliding open. Four black butterflies fluttered through the opening doors. Then, several shinigami stepped through. Though he wasn't, by any means, the tallest, the most imposing of the shinigami seemed to be the silver-haired boy that seemed about her age.

Narrowing her eyes, Karin drew her zanpakutou; it seemed to hum in her hands.

"What do you want?"

The silver haired boy narrowed his clear-blue eyes drew his own long sword.

"Sorry, but we're going to be the ones asking questions here."

Karin grit her teeth. At least Yuzu was back home and safe. She wouldn't be involved. Maybe becoming a shinigami hadn't been such a good idea, if it brought problems like these... She examined her opponents; there seemed to be three. The tallest one had red hair put up into a spiky ponytail, with weird tattooed eyebrows. The other one was a tall and shapely woman. And of course, there was the silver-haired boy pointing his sword at her.

Frowning, Karin focused on their dizzyingly powerful spiritual pressures, and thought it strange that there were only three people. She could sense four...

Then, from behind the tall, red-haired shinigami stepped out a significantly smaller figure with raven-colored hair, whom Karin recognized. It was Rukia, her brother's closest comrade. Karin dropped her defensive stance and blinked.

"Rukia?"

Come to think of it, the spiritual energies of the other three seemed familiar too…

Rukia frowned. "Karin?"

The silver-haired shinigami, only slightly taller than Karin, turned to Rukia. "What, you know her?"

Nodding, Rukia replied, "She's Ichigo's younger sister!"

...

The four shingami, once again, had invaded Ichigo's room, sitting on the floor and sitting in silence. Ichigo and Karin (now back in her body) sat on Ichigo's bed, staring at them all. Then, the two siblings suddenly burst out into laughter.

"So you guys thought that I was a threat!"

Karin giggled helplessly. The idea seemed absurd. All those strong shinigami, afraid of her? When her laughter had abated to a certain extent, Karin asked, "So, you probably know already, but I'm Kurosaki Karin, Ichi-nii's younger sister. I already know Rukia-_chan_ with her _tragic_ past; she lived here for a while."

Ichigo scratched his nose, a bit embarrassed. Karin ignored him and continued, "So who are you guys?"

The curvy woman spoke-up first.

"I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, lieutenant of the 10th division. This," she pointed at the silver-haired kid around Karin's age, "is my captain; his name's Hitsugaya Toushirou."

Chin propped on his hand, the Toushirou surveyed Karin, daring her to comment on his age. To his surprise, she didn't. Rangiku ended by introducing Renji, who raised his hand and said, "Yo. Sorry about earlier. We should have suppressed our spiritual energy. We didn't think that there would have been anybody else around besides you."

Abruptly, Toushirou stood up and said, "Now that this misunderstanding is over with, I'll contact the commander and tell him there's nothing to worry about. Then we can go back."

But Rangiku tugged on his sleeve, and entreated, "Can't we stay in the real world a bit?"

Rukia had already started quibbling with Ichigo.

"- my closet -"

"- _my _personalized sleeping area -"

It was obvious that both females wanted to stay longer, and when Renji contributed, "Hitsugaya-taichou, if it's okay, can we just stay here a little longer? It's been getting.. a bit stifling in Seireitei lately."

Toushirou could not deny that.

"Alright. I'll just make the call." He left through the window.

Karin stared after the peculiar boy with silver hair. She could recognize a workaholic when she saw one, never-mind how young he was. She glanced down at her watch, and suddenly froze.

"Damnit! School!"

Ichigo ruffled his hair and said, "Forget it. I'm skipping today. There are things more important than school. For us, that's Yuzu."

With a pang, Karin remembered her twin, who was laying in bed, still unconscious. The red-haired shinigami - his name was Renji, Karin remembered - reassured her, "Your sister will be fine. It's just the shock."

_'**Just** the shock...?'_ Doubtfully, Karin replied, "If you say so."

"So Urahara-san made you into a shinigami too?"

Karin nodded pensively. She was still thinking about Yuzu. But at the mention of of Urahara, she remembered, "Oh yeah, my zanpakutou..."

Puzzled, Renji asked, "What about it?"

Rolling her eyes, Karin replied, "Urahara-san wants me to tell him about my zanpakutou." Snorting, she added, "Like there's anything to tell. It's pointy and lethal. Oh wow."

An amused voice commented, "You really don't know anything, do you?"

The silver-haired boy - Toushirou - was back. The tone of his voice irritated Karin for some reason. She defended herself, "Well, I just became a shinigami yesterday; excuse me for not being expert."

Toushirou shrugged. "Well, every zanpakutou has a name. Urahara probably wants you to ask yours its name."

"A name?"

Ichigo broke off his conversation with Rukia and said, "Right before you became a shinigami, you met your zanpakutou, right? In some weird world?"

Karin recalled the boy dressed in red, and his dwelling of the upside-down Hanging Gardens. She replayed his last comment to her, _"Let's__ work __well __together__ from __now.__" _and it dawned on her. _  
_

_'So you were my zanpakutou...' _Karin thought to the boy. _'You tried to tell me your name... But I couldn't hear you.'_

After a moment of silence, Karin asked the other shinigami, "If you can't hear the zanpakutou's name when he tells it to you, what does that mean?"

Toushirou answered her shortly, "It means you're not ready."

...

**A/N: Ooh, _burn_. If you ask me who Karin's going to be paired up with after reading this whole chapter... Rawr. Read it again. If you still don't get it after that... then my writing sucks, and I condemn myself. **

**Some of you are probably thinking: **You LIAR, CrystallineX. This is _not_ Karin-centric! It has too much Hitsugaya in it!** Even though some of you may actually prefer such a thing, trust me. It is Karin-centric. And if it isn't already, it _will_ be. Just wait. This chapter was just to set up Hitsugaya's character.  
**

**And for those of you who were curious: The other male contestant was Renji. And I had needed to decide who Karin's other half was gonna be, so I would start out this chapter with him. But too late now. It's Hitsugaya and it's set in stone.**


	9. Train or be Slain

**Disclaimer:**Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** I admit it, this chapter was a biatch to write. Battle scenes are hard without making one character seem like he or she is totally pwning the other.

And sorry that this chapter came a little late today. Halloween partying, haha.

...

**Chapter 9 **- Train or be Slain

...

"It means you're not ready." Was Toushirou's calm answer to Karin's question concerning zanpakutou's names.

Karin stiffened. If she had hackles, at that bald comment, she would have raised them. Instead, she retorted sarcastically, "Then why don't you just train me, oh mighty shinigami-san?"

The whole of Ichigo's room went silent. Toushirou was about shoot back a snappy retort, before part of him whispered to himself,_ 'She might be the one Soul Society needs to break the stalemate with the arrancar.'_

Surveying the young girl, Toushirou thought that maybe - just maybe - he would be able to get _something_ done while he and the rest of the shinigami dispatch were in the real world.

...

Karin could feel the pair of blue eyes burning into her. Then, the boy said, "Alright."

The fourteen-year old girl blinked. Whatever she had expected him to say, it hadn't been assent. It threw her off completely.

"Huh?"

The silver-haired boy repeated impatiently, "I said, 'alright.' I'll train you myself."

...

Toushirou's offer had caught Karin off guard; what was she supposed to say? Yes thank you very much? She hadn't _meant_ it when she suggested that he train her himself.

So she dragged out the two people she knew best within Ichigo's room, which included her brother and Rukia. Currently, they were squatting in the living room, carrying a heated discussion about what to do.

"What, you want me to completely forget about school and train with that Toushirou-shinigami-guy for a whole week!"

Ichigo scratched his head uncomfortably and said, "Well, in the world of shinigami, it's… well... you need to train."

Rukia nodded, and said unhelpfully (in Karin's opinion), "In the spiritual world, it's to train or be slain."

Karin stared at the two.

"But-"

Rukia cut Karin off reprovingly, "In Soul Society, nearly all the shinigami would jump at a chance to be trained by the prodigy Hitsugaya Toushirou himself."

But... the silver-haired guy seemed so intimidating…

...

… Nevertheless, here she was, in her shinigami form again, standing in a grassy clearing scattered with trees - one of the most unpopulated places in Karakura - holding a sword in her hand and feeling stupid. Toushirou was before her, his arms crossed and sword sheathed.

"There are four different types of fighting arts for shinigami."

Karin, sensing a long lecture coming up, stabbed her zanpakutou into the ground and leaned on it, trying her best to look attentive.

Ticking off one finger, Toushirou continued, "The first is zanjutsu, the art of wielding a sword. It's important to know how to swing a sword without decapitating yourself, but for shinigami, it also," here he swiveled his piercing eyes over to Karin, "includes being acquainted with your zanpakutou. Understand?"

Karin nodded. That was easy enough. Toushirou continued by ticking off three other fingers and explaining, "The other three arts are important as well. One is called hakuda, which is hand-to-hand combat; another is called kidou, and the demon-arts; the last one is houhou, the art of movement."

Praying that she wouldn't be made to reiterate the sudden outpouring of information, Karin forced herself to nod as if she understood.

_'Shit, he doesn't look convinced.'_

But Toushirou did not pursue the matter, only saying, "I'll be helping you train in how to use the sword."

At Karin's questioning look implying _'just the sword?'_ Toushirou explained, "Ichigo informed me of your talent and recurring use of hakuda," and an amused smile lit his face. Karin squirmed a bit uncomfortably. Was he referring to how she had practiced and honed her karate skills by using them on her father daily?

But he didn't pursue the issue, only continuing, "Houhou, usually comes to shinigami over the course of time. As for Kidou, I won't teach it to you because, frankly, there are better teachers for the kidou techniques. Besides, by the looks of you and Ichigo, uncontrollable spiritual energy runs in the family. You'd have trouble with kidou."

Karin could tell that he wasn't trying to insult her by telling her she'd have trouble with kidou. He was just stating a fact. But his matter-of-fact tone when making such statements was irritating, in a way that insulting her outright would never be.

"Yeah, whatever. So train me already."

Tugging on her zanpakutou and unlodging it from the dirt, Karin stood in a ready stance, both of her hands on the hilt of her sword. Toushirou slid into a similar stance, one hand reaching over his shoulder and gripping the hilt. The sheath obligingly dissolved to free his sword.

He disappeared, only to reappear right before Karin, swinging his sword dangerously close. Karin parried just in the nick of time, wincing at the sound of metal grating against metal. Toushirou was powerful. But she wasn't Ichigo's younger sister and Isshin's daughter for nothing. She'd taken her fair share of karate and kendo lessons as a child. She managed to slide the weight of her sword to her right side, attempting to use Toushirou's superior strength against him.

It didn't work, as he swung his sword to the side; it didn't even faze him, much less make him lose his balance. But he grinned and said, "Not too bad," but before Karin knew it, the flat of his sword had gently smacked against the left side of neck, and Toushirou finished, "But in real battle, you'd be dead in two strokes or less."

...

They continued to spar, and it was painfully obvious that the captain was going easy on her. She did her best not to trip while back-pedaling from Toushirou's fast and relentless blows. She barely blocked each attack. There were too many times when Toushirou, instead of cutting through her, tapped Karin's vulnerable body parts (mostly her neck) gently with the flat of his blade.

"Nine lives wouldn't be enough, with all the openings you show to the enemy."

...

On the first day of her training with Toushirou, Karin had received two-hundred-and-eighty-six taps to her her neck alone.

"286! You were counting?" Karin shouted incredulously.

...

Despite her soreness, the next day, (which was thankfully the weekend; Karin dreaded all the work she would have to make up for school while she had been trying her best to return into her body) Karin did the best she could. Though the number of taps to her body exceeded three-hundred that day, Toushirou's sword strokes had become harder and swifter. She was improving, but...

"You were more energetic yesterday, Kurosaki!"

Panting, Karin parried Toushirou's increasingly heavy blows and shouted, "Give me a break! The second day's always the worst, haven't you heard?"

...

Well, in actuality, it was the third day that was the worst. Even so, Karin showed some progress, shown not by the number of taps, but by the increased number of strokes it took for Toushirou to "kill" or "decapitate" her. Twenty sword strokes was quite an improvement from two strokes. And they weren't wimpy strokes either. She had gone from a hundred percent defense, to sixty percent defense and forty percent offense. But every little sword movement, be it for defense or offense, made her arms burn. Every time she blocked Toushirou's attack, Karin's arms ached. That day, she didn't have any energy to talk, so she only listened to Toushirou's critiques.

"Don't lock your limbs unless you want to lose them."

Karin loosened her limbs, and the sparring continued.

"Don't ever let the enemy see your back."

_'Easy for you to say, you bastard...'_ Toushirou smacked her on the crown of her head this time, harder than usual.

Oops... had she said that thought out loud?

...

On the fourth day, (a school day, Karin noted) it seemed more of the same, except by then, Karin had built up her endurance solidly, and could actually place more force behind her sword strokes. She lost her balance less, and, according to Toushirou, showed less openings that the enemy could take advantage of.

After an hour of what seemed like pointless clashing (and a few tapping here and there), Toushirou commented between blows, "Your swordsmanship is getting pretty good for a beginniner."

She had energy to talk now, so Karin did so.

"Thanks." Okay, maybe not _that_ much energy, but one word was still something.

"So let's take it a step further, shall we?"

Stepping back, he suddenly flared his spiritual pressure up, and a ring of light blue spiritual energy seemed to rise from the ground around him.

"Since you're so similar to your brother, maybe I'll use_ this_ to train you."

Karin was pretty sure she didn't want to know what _'this'_ would be.

"Wait -"

**"Reign upon the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru."**

It was too late for any form of protest; icy blue spiritual energy seemed to gather around the shinigami in front of her, and Toushirou's long sword transformed with a rattle of a chain and the heavy thunk of a crescent shaped blade attached to the end. The very weather seemed to grow colder.

Karin was transfixed, fascinated by the transformation of Toushirou's sword. The ice-blue aura that surrounded him was simultaneously beautiful and terrifying.

"The first release of the zanpakutou is called shikai."

Ice crystals were forming in the air around Toushirou, and Karin could see her breath frosting before her. A bead of cold sweat ran down her forehead, and she gulped. Her breathing became shallower as the many ice crystals started to cluster together, until it became a mass of writhing ice in the shape of a dragon.

Then, Toushirou attacked. It was too fast, and Karin had stood, frozen with awe and fear. The dragon moved simultaneously with his zanpakutou, and Toushirou maneuvered it to his will until it had wrapped completely around Karin, suspending her in the air.

Toushirou, meanwhile, wore a disappointed expression on his face.

"What, you aren't going to fight back?"

Karin's eyes were wide with anger and shame. Her gaze was towards the ground, but she wasn't seeing anything. She could barely feel the cold ice pressing against her skin and soaking her clothes. Going numb was no surprise; she was encased within a dragon of ice, after all.

All she could feel was the pulsating hilt of her zanpakutou clenched in her hand.

_'I'm a coward,'_ Karin berated herself. _'I thought I had attained the world when I became a shinigami. That training had made me stronger.__'_

Closing her eyes, Karin thought,_ 'Damnit. I'm so weak.'_

Then, a familiar voice sounded in her head, **_"Then become stronger, Karin.__"_**

Closing her eyes, Karin breathed, "You again."

_"Yeah. Me again, crybaby.__ It was so rainy in the Hanging Gardens that I came out to see you instead."_

Slowly opening her eyes, Karin could visualize the boy in red, neither his clothes nor his brown hair unaffected by the blowing wind and ice crystals.

"You think I'll be able to hear your name this time?"

_"You know my name and how to awaken my shikai. Say it with me."_

Karin's eyes snapped open, ablaze with a fire that hadn't been there before.

**"Agakuro, Shinketsuen!"** (Struggle, Divine Blood Flame 神血炎)

The ice dragon exploded, and Karin fell to the ground in a wreath of dark-crimson flames. She landed on one knee, holding in her hand a long, double-edged blade with red tassels hanging from the hilt. Her eyes were dark with determination.

Standing, she spoke in a steady voice to Toushirou, "I'm up for another round."

...

**A/N:**** Meh, I'm pretty sure that I wrangled the name of Karin's zanpakutou. I suppose some of you may find the name lame or disappointing, but it's all in symbolic fun. I've always associated Karin with red, and red symbolizes blood, fire, struggle and stuff like that, so I based it around those stuff. And did my best. **

As for the pronounciation, I haphazardly mixed different kanji-pronunciations to something reasonable, but probably incorrect. I'm not Japanese, so if I've butchered it, oh well. I think Shinketsuen sounds okay.

Struggle - Agaku

Divine: Kami/Ka/Shin

Blood - Chi/Ketsu

Flame - Ho/Hi/En


	10. Fire and Ice then Back to School

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N**: This chapter is sort of mundane, but it fills in some plot holes and stuff. I say that this is my least favorite chapter. Nothing really_happens_.

...

**Chapter 10** - Fire and Ice... then Back to School

...

"I'm up for another round."

Hitsugaya grinned and the ice-dragon form of Hyourinmaru began to form again, ice particle by ice particle.

"Give it your best shot, Kurosaki."

Karin's only answer was to swing Shinketsuen upwards, projecting a stripe of dark fire that cut through the air. Hyourinmaru's ice parried the fire, and both dispersed.

Both drew back to attack again, and fire clashed with ice. But water was the superior element, also supported by decades of experience and fighting skill. Karin didn't have a chance after the second attack.

But Toushirou didn't give off the finishing blow. It wouldn't do to kill the very shinigami he was trying to train.

Besides, she had fallen asleep on the burnt and frosted grass in the clearing.

As the sheath formed around his zanpakutou once again, Toushirou sighed, "Up for another round my ass."

Picking her up, Toushirou quickly headed back towards the Kurosaki residence.

Leaving Karin in her brother's care, Toushirou gathered the rest of the shinigami and headed towards Urahara's shop. They needed gigai.

...

Karin woke up in her and Yuzu's bedroom. As she realized where she was, she bolted upright in her bed.

Sighing and ruffling her shoulder-length raven-hair, Karin muttered, "How many times is it now? Is this the third time I've woken up in someplace I know I didn't fall asleep in?"

The door creaked open and orange hair poked through.

"Oh, you're awake."

Getting out of bed, Karin followed her brother out of the room. She was pleasantly surprised. She wasn't as stiff as she expected to be.

Glancing through the windows, Karin could see that it was still early afternoon. Yuzu would still be at school. Noting the silence in the house, Karin asked, "Where are the rest of the shinigami?"

"Over at Urahara-san's shop. They had business to take care of."

Karin nodded, but felt a tinge of resentment towards his vague explanation. She was a shinigami too, wasn't she? He could explain more specifically. But Ichigo broke through her thoughts by asking, "So you've already been able to release your zanpakutou?"

The pride in his voice alleviated any resentment Karin had been harboring. Grinning toothily, Karin joked, "Yeah, and I kicked that Toushirou-guy's ass with it!"

Someone cleared his throat behind her, and Karin turned around guiltily to see...

"That's_ Hitsugaya__-__taichou_ to you."

It was Toushirou, wearing a black shirt and pants that contrasted with his silver hair. Behind him, was Rangiku, Renji, and Rukia also wearing civilian clothes. Looking curiously at her captain, Rangiku asked, "Is that true, Taichou?"

Karin grinned nervously and answered for Toushirou, "No, it's not, I was just kidding."

Quickly, she changed the subject, "Did you guys go shopping or something? Where did you get the clothes? And how did you pay? You know that carrying those out of the store would just look like clothes floating out through the door, right?"

"We borrowed some gigai from Urahara and went out to get some better clothing. When we're in these, normal humans can see us, so no, the clothes wouldn't look like they were 'floating out through the door.' And Matsumoto was the one who took us shopping."

Toushirou pointed his thumb irritably towards Rangiku, who smiled and waved cheekily.

"Gigai?" Karin asked.

Renji, who had headed towards the sofa and collapsed upon it, said, "Faux bodies. They function just like normal humans, though."

Karin decided she didn't really want to know.

...

Toushirou made no further comment on Karin's 'joke,' and instead, asked unexpectedly, "You guys got anything to eat?"

Because the only person who could cook anything edible - Yuzu - was out and at school, Ichigo ended up having to get take-out with Rukia.

And so the rest of the shinigami waited for the food to arrive.

Rangiku was reading a magazine and giggling. Renji was asleep on the couch. Besides the small giggle and rasping snore here and there, it was completely quiet.

Karin was bored and hungry, and judging by Toushirou's face, he was too. They both visibly perked up when they heard the front door creak open, the delicious smell of food wafting through the door, along with the sounds of an argument.

Karin rolled her eyes, the Ichigo and Rukia had been debating on what they should order when they had left, and they were still quibbling when they had come back. They acted like an old couple that had been married for forty years.

"- not fair, I didn't know that wasn't a Chinese restaurant -"

"- what's wrong with pho? Vietnamese noodles taste -"

"- wanted to try those things people call 'fortune cookies!' I want to know my -"

"- doesn't _tell _you your fortune, and besides, it's_ my _money so -"

Then the two came through the open door, Rukia looking cheated and grumpy, Ichigo looking irritated, completely laden with plastic bags reading 'Pho-tastic.'

Karin quickly leapt up, took some of the bags from her older brother, and the shinigami trooped into the kitchen. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Toushirou nudging Renji awake with his foot.

Taking out the plates and some chopsticks, Karin and Ichigo set up the table for the rest of the shinigami. It was only a few moments before everybody started eating their food.

...

Half-way through her bowl, Karin noticed some sort of asymmetry with the arrangement of the bowls. It stuck to her like an itch; something seemed wrong.

Then she noticed why. They had ordered 15 bowls, which averaged two and a half bowls per person. It seemed that all shinigami had large appetites. Yet Karin and Rukia had only one bowl each, while Rangiku had two steaming bowls in front of her. Ichigo and Renji had, unsurprisingly, three bowls per person. But that only added up to 10 bowls.

Which meant that the remaining five bowls had gone to none other than Toushirou.

Karin's eyes were drawn to Toushirou's seat at the table like magnets. Five large bowls were arranged in a steaming semicircle in front of Toushirou, and he was already finishing up the soup in his second bowl and reaching out with one hand for his third.

It was morbidly fascinating, to see a boy only a little bigger than she, consuming all that food like a vacuum. Where did it all go!

All it required for Toushirou to finish a bowl was a couple of slurps and maneuvering of chopsticks to eat all the noodles, and downing it the noodles by chugging the rest of the soup. And then the bowl was empty.

Realizing that she was staring, Karin quickly closed her mouth and tried to focus on finishing her noodles while they were still warm.

...

The shinigami all seemed to be in food-comas of sorts. They were quietly staring at the TV.

Karin, however, was busy. Before Yuzu got home, Karin had to perform a certain routine which included washing her face with scalding water to make her face red. The other mandatory routine was filling her nose with water to produce a stuffy voice. All of these processes were rather painful, but Karin had a good reason for doing them.

For the past four days, to be able to train with Toushirou, Karin had pretended to be sick.

And it was around three o'clock, when Yuzu would be coming home from school. So Karin had to prepare to look sick.

All the shinigami seemed to think her actions were extremely amusing.

"You know, you could just tell her that you're practicing soccer. It would be easier." Ichigo suggested.

Karin turned wrathfully to her brother and said, "Are you stupid, Ichi-nii! I can't skip school just because of soccer, no matter how fun it is!"

...

After Karin had left to change into her pajamas and lie down to put on her act for Yuzu, Rangiku laughed and said, "Karin really cares for her sister, doesn't she?"

Shrugging, Renji said, "She's like her brother in that aspect, isn't she?" Rukia nodded her assent.

"Shut up." Ichigo mumbled, embarrassed.

But when Toushirou impatiently tapped on the surface of table the shinigami were sitting around, Ichigo and the others turned towards him.

"That's not the only way she's similar to you, Kurosaki. She became a shinigami less than a week ago, and she's already attained her shikai."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "I know that. So what?"

The smaller shinigami sighed and put his chin in his hands. "What I'm trying to say is, that Kurosaki Karin is one step closer to meeting her inner-hollow."

By this time, they were all wearing serious face expressions. Eyes dark, Ichigo said, "When that happens, I'll have to take her to the vaizards. But Karin's still got time until then."

When he looked towards the other shinigami, his eyes were almost pleading. "She probably hasn't even realized yet -"

"It's only a matter of time."

Toushirou stood and resisted the urge to look over his shoulder at what he knew would be an unhappy Ichigo. He hated laying the situation bare like that, but somebody had to keep an objective eye concerning Karin. And that 'somebody' certainly couldn't be Ichigo.

"Matsumoto, Abarai, let's go. We have to clear out before Kurosaki's other younger sister comes back from school."

As the other shinigami piled out through the door, Rukia lay a hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. You did alright against your inner-hollow."

Ichigo sighed deeply and murmured, "It's so dangerous… and it's my fault…"

...

By the time Yuzu had come, Karin was in bed pretending very convincingly to be sick, and Ichigo was in his room with Rukia. When her twin's head peeked in through the doorway, Karin gave a rasping cough and asked in a fake hoarse voice, "Oh, Yuzu, you're back?"

Looking worried, Yuzu said, "Your cold is still that bad, Karin-chan? You usually never get sick… and now that you have, it's going for so long…"

Feeling guilty, Karin gave Yuzu a 'weak smile' and said, "It's fine. I guess I'm just making up for all those years I never got sick."

After touching Karin's 'feverish' cheeks, Yuzu sighed and replaced the washcloth on Karin's forehead.

When Yuzu had left their room for kitchen to start preparing dinner, Karin rolled her eyes and muttered, "Maybe I should just pull an Ichi-nii and just disappear for weeks on end. That would be easier than pretending to be sick when I'm not…"

...

The next day, after Yuzu had left for school, Toushirou took Karin around the town to learn about the more basic duties of shinigami.

"When you perform a soul burial, you have to put a certain amount of spiritual energy in the hilt of your zanpakutou-" He demonstrated by pressing the end of the hilt of Hyourinmaru to the forehead of the soul they had hunted out, gently stamping a seal on the soul. As he replaced Hyourinmaru to its customary place on his back, the soul grew transparent and disappeared with a flash of light.

...

With the next wandering soul that they found, Karin did exactly as she was told, performing the soul burial correctly.

"That's easy enough…"

Is what she thought until the soul yowled with pain as he went to Soul Society. Alarmed by the possibility that she had somehow injured the spirit, Karin looked at Toushirou with panic in her eyes.

"You put in too much spiritual energy when you stamped the forehead." Toushirou said.

Karin rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed. To her surprise, Toushirou shrugged it off.

"Everybody does that the first time. Don't worry, all you have to do is just use less spiritual pressure when you do the ritual."

...

Then, the day after that, Karin was tired of pretending to be sick, (and also tried of training, recycling hollows, and performing soul burials) so she went to school with Yuzu. The teacher greeted her rather menacingly.

"So… Kurosaki… You've finally come back to join the living, haven't you?"

Karin tried not to laugh, because only she would see the irony in the teacher's rhetorical question. Instead, she stalked over to her seat and collapsed into it, ever the delinquent student.

Classes weren't as bad as she had thought, there wasn't anything too new... until...

...

At her desk, Karin growled with frustration at the pile of homework before her. She groaned and her forehead hit the desk with an audible thump.

"So… much… homework…. Damnit!"

Maybe training was preferable. Just maybe.

...

...

**A/N:** Like I said, a pretty mundane chapter, but hey, there's an exciting (and extremely difficult to write) battle scene coming up.


	11. First Names

**Disclaimer: **Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** Ugh…. Me dead… Long… long… difficult… chapter… But it was actually pretty fun to write, I suppose.

Actually, I think I was waiting for this chapter ever since I decided to make this fanfic a Hitsu-Karin. So many quirks to their personalities, which is interesting to weave into the story.

...

**Chapter 11** - First Names

...

Karin still didn't know what was worse. Training or homework. Seeing how she was forced to train at night, and do her homework in the morning these days, and how both gave her no time to sleep, Karin decided that put together, they made up the bane of her life.

Toushirou was slowly increasing the difficulty levels at which he sparred with Karin.

Finally, completely wiped out, Karin fell back to the ground to land painfully on her back. At least the grass cushioned her fall some. Her blue-eyed teacher loomed over her and said callously, "Get up, Kurosaki. We're still got some ways to go before you can be considered proficient with your zanpakutou."

Groaning, Karin said grumpily, "Haven't you heard of something called sleep! We humans need it, you know." and she closed her eyes.

Only to have the wind knocked out of her stomach. Her eyes shot open indignantly, and she looked at her stomach area, expecting to see her evil teacher's foot rammed into her belly, but to her surprise, it was his silver hair that she saw instead. What was his _head_ doing on her stomach!

"Then let's see how long you last like this." That was Toushirou's voice, coming from somewhere around her stomach.

Karin, determined to get _some_ shut eye, made a face but refrained from commenting.

After several moments, Toushirou commented, "Hey, you actually make a nice pillow."

Karin squirmed. If her teacher's plan was to keep her from sleeping, then it was _working._ She was extremely ticklish, and having a head on her stomach - a boy's head no less! - was extremely uncomfortable. In more ways than one. For several minutes, she lay there, attempting to ignore the weight of a head on her stomach, trying in vain to fall asleep.

Finally, Karin lost the battle to try and ignore that a guy's head was on her stomach, and asked timidly, "Umm… Hitsugaya-sensei... Will you get off, please?"

There was no answer.

"I'll go back to training…?"

Still no answer. Then Karin realized that her teacher's breathing was deep and even. He was asleep.

_'What, so he was tired too? That stubborn little…'_

But, as she chanced another glimpse at the silver hair and strangely peaceful profile, she thought, that maybe her teacher wasn't so bad after all.

...

Karin woke up to find herself on the ground with a white haori (kimono coat) covering her like a blanket. Yawning, Karin sat up and stretched. Looking around, Karin saw that Toushirou was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello? Hitsugaya-sensei?"

There was no answer except for her own voice echoing back. Frowning, Karin called again, "Yo! Shinigami-guy!"

Still no answer.

"Evil trainer?"

Now she was getting nervous. Where had he gone? Standing up and draping the white haori around her shoulders like a cloak, Karin waded through the tall grasses. She hadn't gone far before she heard a voice from behind her.

"Where are you going?"

Ah, there he was. Turning to Toushirou, Karin asked, "I was going to go look for you. Where were you, anyway?"

"Giving a report to Soul Society." was his short answer before he turned his back on her and began to walk away.

Confused, Karin called out, "Wait, where are you going?"

Looking over his shoulder, he replied, "To your house? What, are you not going to go to school? Because if you aren't, that's fine with me. You could always use more traini-" He was cut short by his own white captain's haori being thrown into his face.

Karin was already running ahead of him, yelling, "Shit! My homework!"

...

"We're home." Chorused the twins as they returned from school, Karin's line a beat later than Yuzu's, due to weariness.

Karin and Yuzu entered through the door of their home, to find Ichigo and Rukia asleep on the couch. Yuzu smiled and giggled before fetching a blanket to cover the two with. On the other hand, Karin scratched her head and stared at the pair. They were mismatched, but somehow they fit. She wasn't quite sure how. Maybe because Rukia seemed tough enough to handle her brother.

She couldn't help but laugh when Rukia's head fell onto Ichigo's shoulder, and mumbling in her sleep, "leave me... some strawberries..." (Ichigo also means strawberry ;] )

Even after Yuzu had crossed over to the clinic to lend a hand, Karin was still standing and watching her brother, who looked more peaceful than she had seen him in years.

While Karin had been pensively observing her brother and Rukia, someone had come up behind her. Fingers tapped her shoulder.

"Kurosaki."

Karin turned around and greeted, "Oh, heya, Hitsugaya-sensei."

It was an odd mixture of informality and formality. Karin grimaced. Out of all the possible greetings, that had to be the lamest that she could have said. Or maybe she was just being paranoid.

Whichever it was, Toushirou didn't seem to care.

"We're off to Urahara's tomorrow. There's some stuff I need to get there, and since I'm going, you might as well go and talk to him about your shikai. I mentioned it to him when I went to pick up my gigai, and he said he wanted to see it."

When Karin was about to open her mouth to say that she still had lots of homework to do, Toushirou seemed to realize what his student was about to say, and added with a frown, "And don't even think about refusing to go."

His eyes also added, _'I can make your training a living hell if you don't listen to what I say.'_

Karin sighed. Why did all of her teachers seem to be so fixated upon torturing her?

...

"Kurosaki! Will you focus!"

And here she was, in the dead of the night, training with Toushirou. Again.

"I'm able to release my zanpakutou now, so remind me why I have to train again?" Karin asked for the umpteenth time.

And for the umpteenth time, Toushirou replied, "It's not enough that you were able to do your shikai just once or twice! You have to be able to summon it at will!"

Scowling, Karin retorted, "Easy for you to say, since you're a captain!"

Nevertheless, she focused her spiritual energy, and called out, **"Struggle, Shinketsuen!"**

This time, it worked, and she summoned flames to battle against the ice of Hyourinmaru. After a few feeble thrusts of crimson flames, the flames faded, and Karin's zanpakutou was back to its unreleased state. She let out a growl of frusteration and tried once more, managing to keep Shinketsuen released a bit longer this time around.

It seemed rather futile to her anyways; whenever her fire melted the Toushirou's ice, the resulting water just doused her flames.

"What's the point! Water dominates fire, so I'll _never_ win!"

Pausing in their sparring, Toushirou replied, "The point of your training isn't to beat me. It's for you to improve. Besides, if you focus your spiritual energy enough, I'm sure you can maintain your fire. It's not normal fire that you're working with."

Sighing, Karin tightened her grip on Shinketsuen's hilt.

"Just one more round, then."

"Yeah, and then we're heading to Urahara's shop."

Karin groaned. She'd forgotten about that.

...

"Urahara." Toushirou greeted the shop owner.

Renji, a little more politely, said, "Hello, Urahara-san."

The other shinigami, including Ichigo, Rukia, and Rangiku, greeted Urahara cordially.

However, Karin didn't greet the 'sadistic, scruffy old man' at all. She just stared at him grumpily as she stumped into the candy shop. Jinta did nothing to improve her mood when he jabbed her painfully in the ribs and hissed, "Where's Yuzu-san!"

Unexpectedly, Karin snarled at him, "She's at school! Unlike me," - here she shot Toushirou a nasty look - "who was dragged here by force."

Exhaling noisily, Toushirou rolled his eyes and said, "Stop being so dramatic, Kurosaki. We came here for a reason. One reason is because we're running low on Soul Candy. The other reason is for _your,_" he stressed the word 'your,' "shikai."

Nudging Karin gently, Rukia whispered, "show Urahara your shikai."

Sighing, Karin popped a Soul Candy into her mouth (it was her next to last one) and came out of her body in her shinigami outfit.

Raising his finger jovially, Urahara said, "As much as I am pleased by your _eagerness_, Karin-san, I think the better location for wielding a sword would be in our basement."

So after jumping down into the basement, Karin unsheathed her zanpakutou in the unpleasantly familiar training arena. Just for the sake of curiosity, Karin looked around, to see if the Shattered Shaft pit was still there. It wasn't. Figured.

When everybody had seated themselves on the scattered boulders here and there, Karin settled into a fighting stance and shouted, "**Agakuro, Shinketsuen!**"

With a flare of red spiritual energy, Karin's zanpakutou had transformed into the double-edged sword again. Mentally, Karin breathed a sigh of relief. At least she hadn't humiliated herself in front of all the other shinigami. It was quite enough for Toushirou to see all her failed shikai attempts.

Eyeing the sword critically, Urahara said, "May I see its use in combat?"

Obligingly, Toushirou reverted to shinigami form with what seemed like his last soul candy and took out Hyourinmaru.

After a few minutes of sparring between ice and fire, Urahara coughed. They two came to a stop with the sparring and stood at attention, waiting for whatever the shop owner had to say.

"Karin-san. Your zanpakutou is a fire-elemental type."

Rolling her eyes, and sealing and sheathing her zanpakutou, Karin ground out, "Oh really? I'd never have guessed."

Toushirou, too, seemed to be a little impatient.

"Are you really the man that created the Hougyoku! Tell us something we don't know!"

Snapping his fan open and lightly fanning himself with it, Urahara said delicately, "Let this ordinary businessman finish, then."

When everybody had fallen silent again, he continued, "Like I was saying before, Shinketsuen is a fire-elemental-type zanpakutou. But he seems to be a hybrid of sorts as he's also a spiritual type zanpakutou."

Opening her mouth to ask just _what_ defined a spiritual-type zanpakutou, Karin nearly jumped out of her skin at several screeching sounds, promptly forgetting the question. All the shinigami that had come from Soul Society immediately took out their cell phones, which continued to screech in a way that made Karin's skin crawl. The several times that she had gone with Toushirou to exterminate hollows, the cell-phones had only beeped. Why were they screeching now?

Toushirou exclaimed, "There's five of the arrancar, and judging from their spiritual pressures, two of them are Espada!"

Karin looked up, alarmed. Whatever he was talking about, didn't sound good.

"Arrancar? Espada?"

Toushirou nodded grimly, "Arrancar are humanoid hollows. And the Espada are the ten strongest arrancar."

Karin understood what he meant by humanoid hollows. The unusually strong ones that looked more human, that always had seemed to give the shinigami more trouble.

Simultaneously, except for Urahara himself, all of the shinigami in the basement whom hadn't already shed their gigai, swallowed their Soul Candy and burst forth in their black hakama uniforms.

But before Karin could jump to catch up with Toushirou and the others, Ichigo caught her by the arm.

"You're not going."

Wrenching her arm free, Karin argued, "We don't have time for this. I've gotten stronger. All I have to do is avoid the Espada, right? So I'll take on one of the weaker ones!"

"You don't understand! Regular arrancar are powerful too!"

"I'm. Going."

Rukia urged, "Just let her go, Ichigo. If it's five of them against six of us, it'll be fine. I'll fight with her."

Time was short, so Ichigo caved. But he swore to keep a close watch on his younger sister.

...

"Hey, look how fast they came!"

"I told you we wouldn't have to go look for them. All we had to do is release our spiritual pressure."

The five arrancar were clustered together, all suspended in the sky. Karin noted that they all looked nearly human, except for the holes in their chests and the remnants of masks on their faces. They wore white, stylized hakamas.

As all the shinigami leapt into the sky to face the arrancar, all of whom emitted copious amounts of spiritual pressure. She shivered involuntarily, and it wasn't because the wind was cold.

"You and Kuchiki take on the arrancar on the far left. And remember. _Focus._" whispered a voice in Karin's ear. It was Toushirou. She suppressed a jump of surprise and nodded. She trusted his judgment. No matter for how short a time, he was her teacher. Motioning towards Rukia, who inclined her head in assent, Karin slowly inched her way towards the arrancar on the left. At the same time, Renji and Rangiku each took on one of the other arrancar and spread out to different locations.

The arrancar that Karin and Rukia were paired up against was all lean muscle, dark-skinned, and frankly, ugly.

Drawing her sword, Rukia questioned, "What is your business here, arrancar?"

Sneering, the arrancar replied, "The name's Checha Zerto, number thirty-seven. And I don't believe I'll tell you what we're here for. That would defeat the purpose of our mission, anyhow."

Rukia held on one arm to hold Karin back. "I'll take him - " Her sentence was cut short by a sudden fountain of blood from her shoulder to torso. Karin watched, eyes wide with horror as Rukia staggered backwards and fell through the air. She heard her brother cry, "Rukia!"

A flash of black darted past Karin to catch the fallen shinigami. Ichigo placed the injured Rukia carefully on the ground and leapt back up to face Checha Zerto. But before either could attack each other, another arrancar blocked Ichigo, saying, "You're facing me, shinigami. The Quinto (fifth) espada should keep your hands full, no?"

Their swords clashed and Ichigo hastily used shunpo and moved to a different location to avoid placing Rukia or Karin in further danger. He didn't like the idea of leaving Karin alone, but there was no choice.

This left Karin to face Checha Zerto alone. Swallowing, she drew her sword. The arrancar stared at her, seemingly bored. "And who are you, shrimp?"

Gritting her teeth, Karin replied, "Kurosaki Karin."

At her answer, Checha Zerto smirked.

"Oh? So I actually get something worth playing with?"

Narrowing his eyes and scratching his face, the arrancar groused, "Aw man, but I'm not supposed to kill you."

Before she could figure out what he meant by either of his sentences, Karin heard a dull, low note sounding in the air, and she realized that the arrancar was no longer standing before her. She looked around, trying to pinpoint where he had gone to, before she heard from behind her.

"Looking for me?"

Instinctively, Karin front-flipped to avoid the blow, but she was too slow, and a pain laced up her left side.

...

Toushirou's opponent had black hair styled to a wind-ruffled mullet. Cocking his head in an insolent bow, the arrancar said, "The name's Isidro, the Noveno (ninth) Espada."

Narrowing his eyes, Toushirou said, "Hitsugaya Toushirou, captain of the Tenth Division."

"That'll make things fun, won't it now?"

So, the Espada wasn't even going to release his zanpakutou. The fool would pay for underestimating Hitsugaya Toushirou. And he would have to pay _fast, _because judging from what he could hear, Karin was fighting alone against an arrancar. Toushirou yelled, "Hold on, Kurosaki! I'm coming!"

He'd have to finish this fight off fast. He released his zanpakutou.

...

Karin coughed up blood. The taste of liquid metal filled her mouth and Karin fought to keep from retching. Gingerly, she put one hand to her left side. Her shinigami hakama was wet with blood there. Her blood. From the distance, she heard other battles, and Toushirou's voice cry out, "Hold on, Kurosaki! I'm coming!"

She vaguely supposed that her teacher was talking to her and not her brother.

Before Karin managed to even think one more thought, she felt a burning pain, this time at her right side. Even while she was hunched over and trying in vain to stem the flow of her blood, Karin managed to look up into her opponent's face.

"And here I was, thinking that the famed Kurosaki Ichigo's sister would actually be worth fighting… but she's only a weak little girl."

Weakly, she managed to parry his next two sword attacks, but it was obvious he was toying with her. Why didn't he just kill her and get it over with?

And suddenly, the arrancar attacked again, this time lodging his sword between two of her lower ribs on the right side, his white sleeve now splattered with Karin's blood. Her vision was tunneling. She couldn't die here… but her hold on her zanpakutou was loosening, her thoughts becoming sluggish, and her eyelids drooping.

"Hah, this is no fun, I guess we should just get this over with." Checha Zerto complained.

_'_**_You're so weak…'_**Was the last thing Karin heard before she lost consciousness; but the voice that had spoken to her sounded like a woman's. It seemed vaguely familiar and alien at the same time.

It was the owner of the voice that took over Karin.

...

Almost immediately, Toushirou felt the change in Karin's spiritual pressure. He shifted gears. Shikai was obviously not enough to defeat an Espada.

"I don't have the time to play with you, Noveno Espada.** Bankai**."

Before Isidro could even release his zanpakutou, Toushirou shouted, "Ryuusenka!" (Dragon Hail Flower)

The ninth espada, caught off guard, was immediately encased within ice. To defeat the enemy completely, Toushirou took it one step further by using Sennen Hyourou (Ice Prison of a Thousand Years). It had seemed almost ridiculously easy, but Toushirou didn't take the time to consider anomalies about enemies he had already defeated. Not when others were in danger.

"Kurosaki!"

...

With a spray of blood, Karin leapt back and unpinned herself from Checha Zerto's unreleased sword. Almost immediately, the blood flow began to stop from all of her wounds. Karin's hair fell away from her face, and the mask that had begun to form around her face became visible. It was skull-esque and white with stripes of red weaving through it in a strangely grotesque design. The eyes that peered through the holes in the half-formed mask were black with crimson pupils.

Checha Zerto stepped back, alarmed.

"What the -"

Without even a spoken command, the hollow-Karin released Shinketsuen, and started twirling her now double-edged Chinese-styled zanpakutou, slashing and firing off crimson flames from the blade of her sword in arcs.

Her movements had become more fluid and harder to follow; unpredictable. But she seemed to be drawing a spiral pattern in the air, the flames spiraling outwards and contracting before she lunged forward, sending the dark flames forward to engulf Checha Zerto. The arrancar had no time to react besides emmit a strangled yell before he was obliterated by the flames.

_**"Heh. ****One ****down.****"**_

Behind the half-formed hollow mask, Karin wore a manic smile.

_**"So****, who's**** next?****"**_

"Kurosaki!"

The hollow-Karin turned her red and black gaze towards the fast approaching Toushirou. Her sinister grin widened.

_**"Oh****, so ****it's**** a ****shinigami ****this ****time?****"**_

Toushirou growled a curse before swooping closer to the hollow-Karin using his wings of ice.

"I'm too late." he whispered. If only he had defeated the Espada earlier…!

But he tried one more time to reach to Karin, who was his student, if not his friend.

"Kurosaki…"

The hollow-Karin began to look bored. She scoffed,_** "If**** you're ****talking**** to**** the ****weakling ****who ****used ****to**** own ****this ****body, ****give ****up. ****It's ****my ****body ****now. ****And ****I ****think ****I'll ****kill ****you ****with ****it.****"**_

She licked her lips, her red pupils glinting.

_**"Oh, ****I'm ****sure ****she'd ****like ****that. ****Her ****precious ****teacher ****drenched ****in ****his ****own ****blood ****and ****ice ****by ****her ****own ****hands, before she even got to call him by his first name.****"**_

She laughed in a laugh that was nothing like Karin's laugh. It was high pitched and cruel; Karin's might have been a little rambunctious, but at least her laughter had been warm and infectious.

Toushirou was about to get closer to Karin, to tell her to snap out of it, but Rangiku appeared beside him, trying to restrain him. She had originally come to tell him that the one remaining Espada, Ichigo's opponent, had fled to Hueco Mundo by himself, the rest of the arrancar already having been slain.

"Taichou, she's dangerous as she is now, you shouldn't -"

"Let go of me, Matsumoto -"

Toushirou broke free of his lieutenant's grip and flew straight for Karin using Daiguren Hyourinmaru's wrings. He grabbed the hollow-Karin's shoulders and shook her.

"Snap out of it, Kurosaki! You -"

The hollow-Karin's eyes narrowed. Her grin was gone, replaced by an even scarier expression.

_**"You**** really ****must ****not ****value ****your ****arms.****"**_

Crimson flames unfurled from the blade of Shinketsuen, but before they could even attempt to slice off Toushirou's arms, Karin's own hand reached out and pulled at the mask on her face.

Shinketsuen's flames froze in place and seemed to fade. Hopeful, Toushirou tightened his grip on Karin's shoulders.

Karin seemed to be struggling with herself; Toushirou knew that it was her struggle with her inner-hollow.

"Get… out… of my… body!"

This time, Toushirou recognized Karin's voice even through the hollow-like timbre.

Finally, with the sound like the crack of a whip, Karin tore the mask off, which immediately crumbled into pieces in her hand.

Karin's eyes were their normal black again. Her familiar black eyes focused on Toushirou's blue ones, and Karin managed to whisper, "Tou… shirou…"

Without thinking, Toushirou hugged Karin, ignoring the small noise of surprise from Rangiku.

"It's alright now…_ Karin._"

Karin managed to smile despite her shock and fear of what had just taken over her. The cold boy who had always referred even the people closest to him by their last names, had just called her 'Karin.'

_'He called me by my first name…'_

_...  
_

**A/N:** For those of you who think I moved a bit too fast with the Karin/Toushirou thing… Well… some situations do things like that.

And for those that bear resentment for me cutting out Rukia's battle scene... Battle scenes are fricking _hard_ to write without sounding uber-repetitive. I know Rukia's not that weak. I just didn't have the energy to have her release her zanpakutou. So I just had her put out of action before she could do anything to fight. Even more so for Renji and Rangiku, whose battle scenes I didn't write about at all.


	12. Closer

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite!

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** Another filler-esque chapter. Bleh… I suppose this is the problem with coming up with the whole plot ahead of time… The time fillers are hard to make… Sigh….

And, thank you for those of you that are reviewing… I appreciate it!

Just so you know, the reason why I'm updating every day, is because all the rest of my stories that aren't one shots died half-way through, but I'm determined to carry this one out to the very end!

...

**Chapter 12** - Closer

..

_**Hueco Mundo: Las Noches**_

"Aizen-sama!"

The Quinto (fifth) Espada, bleeding profusely from a wound to the chest, staggered into the throne room and shakily knelt in front of Aizen Sousuke.

Aizen opened his eyes, and the Espada flinched. Only Aizen was able to open his eyes and make it seem life threatening. Lounging in his chair, Aizen examined the bleeding hollow coolly, and asked,

"Your report, Gartuano?"

"Six shinigami apprehended us, Aizen-sama. The spiritual pressure of the unborn-vaizard in Karakura town, belonged to Kurosaki Ichigo's younger sister."

Aizen's lip curled.

"Obviously, you failed to capture her. So we will have to dispatch another team to bring our experimentable vaizard to Las Noches."

Gulping, Gartuano looked at the floor and said, "She entered into some defensive hollow-state and the other shinigami prevented us from getting to her; forgive me, Aizen-sama…"

"And I assume all the other Arrancar, including Isidro, were slain?"

"Y-yes, sir."

"Very well. You may go."

Breathing a sigh of relief, the fifth Espada retreated hastily from the throne-room.

...

_**Real World: Karakura Town**_

"Karin-chan, Rukia-san… hold on just a bit longer…"

Inoue Orihime was hard at work once more, healing the various injuries of the shinigami. Ichigo hovered worriedly over Rukia and his younger sister, brow furrowed more deeply than usual. Toushirou, on the other hand, sat still, staring at the golden barrier encasing Karin and Rukia. He had already showed an excessive amount of emotion for today. Any more and he wouldn't be himself. So he settled on silently watching Orihime's strong rejection powers.

Rangiku sat herself beside her captain and stated knowingly, "That child… Karin… must be very special to you."

Toushirou didn't even bother glance at his lieutenant. He kept his eyes trained on the healing Karin a few meters away. "What makes you say that?"

"You called her by her first name." was her simple answer. She didn't even have to mention how he had held Karin after she had returned back to normal.

He had no way to refute that. Scowling, Toushirou growled, "That was just once, Matsumoto. And besides, she's my student. It'd be a waste of my effort if she just died or turned into a hollow."

Though Rangiku raised an eyebrow at Toushirou's excuses, she didn't pursue the matter. Some things had to be realized without the help of others.

"Karin-chan! You shouldn't be moving yet!"

Karin, stubborn as she was, was already trying to sit up.

Suddenly standing up and crossing over the now-conscious-Karin, Toushirou firmly ordered, "Lay down."

"Toushirou…" Karin stared up at Toushirou with eyes hazed over with pain.

Kneeling beside her, Toushirou said a little more gently, "You were seriously hurt, you know." He gently pushed her down back into a lying position.

Karin's gaze traveled from Toushirou's face to Ichigo's.

"Ichi-nii…"

There was an incredible amount of pain in Ichigo's brown eyes as he started, "Karin, I…"

"Did you have to fight the hollow too? The hollow inside?" Karin asked quietly.

Hanging his head, Ichigo answered in a low voice, "Yes."

In a slightly different tone of voice, Karin questioned, "But you beat him, right?"

Looking back at his sister, Ichigo nodded. Suddenly, Karin laughed, "That's good. At least it's possible."

Shooting a exaggeratedly shrewd look towards Ichigo, Karin half-admonished, "I did figure that if I became a shinigami the same way you did, that I'd have a hollow in me too, you know."

Though she _had_, in fact, predict that she'd have a hollow in her as well, experiencing it first hand was worse than she'd ever imagined. She had gone out of control, and lost herself when the hollow had taken over. Only when Toushirou had shouted at her had she regained some of herself.

It went against the grain of her normal personality, but Karin had neither the energy nor confidence needed to be verbally cynical. Voicing her cynical thoughts would just make things worse.

There was a hollow inside of her. And she didn't have the courage to admit she was scared.

...

"Toushirou… sensei?" Karin hastily supplied the suffix 'sensei' as she addressed her teacher.

Sighing, Toushirou muttered, "Just 'Toushirou' is fine." He had given up on telling her to call him Hitsugaya-Taichou. Besides, he felt a strangely warm sensation when she said his given name.

Eyes widening, Karin peered in closer and asked, "Really?"

Opening one turquoise-colored eye and glaring peevishly at Karin with it, Toushirou growled, "Or you can go back to calling me Hitsugaya-sensei, if you're so uncomfortable with calling me by my first name."

Karin wrinkled her noise. "I never said that." She muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "so petty..."

"What was that!"

"Nothing…"

"Then keep meditating!"

They were in the grassy clearing again. And they were sitting and meditating. And it was boring.

Biting back a yawn, Karin remembered what she had been about to ask her teacher. "Oh yeah, Toushirou-sens… I mean, Toushirou… Did you say that there was a second release after shikai?"

Without opening his eyes this time, Toushirou replied, "Yes. It's called bankai, but as long as your shikai is stuck in its half-controlled state, you shouldn't even think about bankai."

"Oh."

"Don't sound so disappointed. Usually, shinigami work for centuries to attain their bankai."

Karin abandoned all pretenses of meditation and exclaimed, "Centuries!"

Snorting softly, Toushirou replied, "Yes. It takes that much practice. Kurosaki Ichigo is an exception, though. He took a mere few days to master his bankai."

Instead of 'ooh' and 'ahh'ing over her brother, Karin asked, "Wait, but _you_ have a bankai, don't you?"

"Yes, but it only took me a couple of decades, and that's actually really fast for a normal shinigami." He said with a hint of pride in his voice.

Karin completely missed anything Toushirou stated after the 'yes' to her question. Staring, Karin managed to say, "So you're an old man! And here I was, thinking you were my age! Is _that_ why your hair is white!"

Several years before, Toushirou hadn't appreciated being called an elementary school student, and even now, he didn't appreciate 'silver-haired middle-school-student' comments he received on the street.

But he liked the idea of being an 'old man' _even__ less_.

A vein popping out from his forehead, Toushirou, too, completely forgot about meditating as he turned his head towards Karin and practically shouted in her face, "I am NOT an old man!"

And then they noticed how close their faces were. Coughing and forcing himself to regain some of his calm, Toushirou said in a bit more of a controlled manner, "Well, people age much more slowly in Soul Society, so technically, I_ am_ around your age."

"I see." Karin's voice was flat and disbelieving. Why did she care anyways?

Meditation seemed difficult with all the tension in the air, so Karin picked up her zanpakutou and said, "I'm going to head home."

She sneaked a look towards Toushirou, who had made no move to follow her. Stretching purposefully, Karin added, "Besides, I'm hungry."

A grin spread over Karin's face as Toushirou suddenly picked up Hyourinmaru and stood up as well.

_'When all else fails, get him through his stomach.' _Karin thought slyly, glancing at Toushirou out of the corner of her eye._  
_

"Maybe I'm hungry too…"

Well, he certainly proved it by eating two woks of rice.

...

"Karin-chan, Nii-chan, Daddy…"

Yuzu, with an accusing glare, stood her family in front of her like a militant and pointed towards the rice maker.

"I made a whole rice-cooker-full of rice this morning! Why is it all gone already! And the bag of rice is half-empty! It was nearly full just the day before yesterday!"

Ichigo and Karin exchanged guilty looks and silently cursed the freeloaders who were hiding in their house, and every once in a while fleeing to Urahara's. Unconvincingly, Ichigo raised his hand and said, "Err… well, I was hungry?"

As Ichigo took all the blame, Karin and Isshin quickly made their escapes.

For a moment, it seemed as if Isshin were going to say something to his black-haired daughter, but he seemed to change his mind, and instead, headed for the clinic.

...

Finally, Karin was able to hold her shikai for as long as she wanted, and also release her zanpakutou at will.

The crimson fires from Shinketsuen also seemed more resilient to the naturally advantageous ice and water elements that Hyourinmaru presided over.

On accident, Karin also discovered that blood strengthened Shinketsuen's attacks of fire.

While simultaneously running and swinging Shinketsuen, Karin had clumsily cut herself with her own blade before shooting off flames of deep, blood-red that sliced straight through Hyourinmaru's ice, grazing Toushirou's face.

Ignoring the pain in her leg from where she had cut herself, Karin immediately ran towards Toushirou and apologized. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

Toushirou had his eyebrows raised, and to Karin's surprise, he commented, "Besides that fact that you sustained damage from your own attack, that was pretty good. You may have just found a way to amplify your shikai."

Wiping the blood from the cut on his right cheek and rubbing it onto the surface of Karin's blade, Toushirou ordered, "Try your attack again."

Karin performed her shikai attack once more as Toushirou raised his sword and summoned ice. Once again, Karin's attack cut through Toushirou's ice and this time, as Toushirou quickly avoided the attack, the fire cleaved a crevice in the ground instead. But it seemed to contain less strength than it had the first time.

With more experimentation, they discovered that the more blood Shinketsuen was covered with, the more strongly Karin's attacks were amplified. Moreoever, the blood could belong to anybody.

Upon having found this out after a day of experimentation, Karin joked, "Maybe I should just carry around vials of blood for battles."

Toushirou took the joke at face value and said, "That may not be necessary once you get good enough with the sword to be able to cut your enemy. But for now, in case you ever get ambushed by hollows or arrancar, that might be a good idea."

...

So that night, upon her teacher's orders, Karin snuck into her father's clinic and stole several plastic vials of Type-A blood, praying that not that many type-A-blooded people would need major surgery the next day. After all, her father's clinic was rather small. Well, there were gallons of Type-A blood, anyway. Her father wouldn't miss a pint or two.

...

This second time Karin visited the Hanging Gardens was during another meditation session. The world didn't seem as alien as it had the first time. In fact, it was actually comforting in a strange way.

_"Oh, you're back."_

"What, you talk as if you don't see me everyday." Karin retorted, rather spoiling the argumentative effect she had intended by being overly cautious while walking on thin air towards the upside down hanging gardens.

She envied Shinketsuen, who moved around the world of the Hanging Gardens with such grace.

"Oh yeah, Shinketsuen?"

_"Hmm?"_

"What's the name of my first shikai?"

Waving his finger at her, Shinketsuen performed a back-flip through the air and said, _"What, you think I'm gonna tell you just like that?"_

Grumpily, Karin sat down, or hung, from the cornerstone of the Hanging Gardens and said, "Fine then. But Toushirou wants me to get to know you better, so at least carry a conversation with me."

Swinging from tree to tree with irritating ease, Shinketsuen articulated between swings, _"So what do you want to know? Because I don't have regular statistics like other people, like a birthday or blood type, or anything like that. Well, technically, I do, but you wouldn't be able to comprehend them, so I'll just say that they're the same as yours. So what is there to know, besides my name?"_

As insensitive as she was with the matters of communication, Karin could detect a hint of a challenge, or test, in Shinketsuen's last question.

"Well, first off, you could tell me about this world."

Because she had no idea what Shinketsuen was challenging her to do, Karin was going to have to try stabbing random conversation topics.

_"The weather's bad when your emotions are in turmoil. It's sunny when you're doing okay. Next!"_

"Why is it the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? And why is it upside down?"

Stopping in his swinging and landing right in front of Karin, Shinketsuen asked her in turn,_"Why is the sky blue? And why is the world round? Actually, don't answer those. Answer this: Why are you who you are?"_

Karin finally snapped, "I'm not in the mood to play word games with you."

_"Hey, don't get angry." _He raised his hand in defense.

Sighing, Karin slumped said, "I'm not. I'm just frustrated because I know almost nothing about you."

Shinketsuen seemed to consider Karin for a moment, as if he were examining an unknown cell through a microscope. Cocking his head, he whispered,_ "Do you want me to let you in on a little secret?"_

Karin said glumly, "Go ahead. Be my guest."

_"You and I want the same things."_

"What, to sleep?" Karin said grumpily.

Rolling his eyes, Shinketsuen said, _"Well, maybe, but try to go a bit beyond that. Besides, I don't even need to sleep.__"_

After a few moments of silent contemplation, Karin looked up quizzically. Reading the question in her eyes, Shinketsuen sighed and asked again,_  
_

_"What do you really want? Don't stop and think about it, just say what you want."_

So obligingly, Karin shut down her mind and just spoke what - well, it sounded cheesy - her heart told her to.

"To get stronger."

The brown-haired boy mussed his hair, grinned triumphantly, and jumped back up to hang from the vines in the hanging gardens. His red sleeves flapped as he sailed through the air and said,_ "There you go. I want you to get stronger too. And I can help it happen."_

Before Karin could ask just how he would help her, something seemed to ripple through the world of the Hanging Gardens, causing a disturbance. A branch from a tree snapped and fell into the abyss of sky below her. Karin looked around, alarmed.

"What was that?"

Letting go of his one-handed grip on the vine on which he had been swinging to and fro, Shinketsuen dropped beside Karin and replied, _"Your inner-hollow."_

Karin's eyes widened. "What?"

_"She's been like that every so often since the battle with the arrancar.__"_ Frowning worriedly, Shinketsuen said,_ "You should get out. It's dangerous here right now."_ His eyes were shadowed.

Before she left, Karin grabbed her zanpakutou's arm, "Will you be alright?"

_"I'll be fine. Just go."_

_..._

And Karin's eyes flickered open, and she found herself just as she had been when she had started meditating, sitting cross-legged in the grass, with her sword lodged vertically into the ground in front of her.

Turning to Toushirou, Karin tapped her teacher's shoulder to get his attention. Opening his turquoise eyes, Toushirou turned to Karin. "What, have you already found out your shikai's name?"

Karin shook her head. "Not that. I think Shinketsuen might be in danger."

Toushirou's eyes widened. "What?"

Quickly, Karin explained about the tremors and disturbances in her world, and how Shinketsuen said that they were caused by her inner hollow.

At the end of her short explanation, Toushirou grimaced and said, "I have no experience in the symptoms of pre-vaizards. Though it's unlikely that Shinketsuen is in any immediate danger, you should talk about it to your brother, just in case."

At Karin's worried face, Toushirou managed a smile and ruffled her black hair, causing Karin's stubborn locks to fall out of her ponytail.

"It'll be fine. Kurosaki did fine against_ his_ hollow, and you got your shikai faster than he did. You should be able to beat your hollow soon enough."

Maybe Toushirou wasn't completely sure, but logic and deduction indicated what he had said to be true. For Karin's sake, he sure as hell hoped it was.

...

**A/N:** Okay, next chapter is gonna be another killer for me… So I will go and recuperate…


	13. Through the Sky

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** Another hard chapter…. But then again... I've totally been waiting to write this ever since I started this story.

...

**Chapter 13** - Through the Sky

...

_**Real World: Karakura Town**_

After another incredibly boring and unsuccessful meditation session, Karin was beat the crap out of by her mercilessly powerful teacher once again. Heaving a exhausted sigh and crouching tiredly on the ground, Karin looked up at the night sky.

"The sky's really clear here, isn't it?" Karin remarked.

Toushirou gave a non-committal grunt, but Karin knew it to be true. The sky was always clearer in open country than in the cities. For some reason she didn't know, Karin loved clear night skies immensely. Maybe it was because it had been cloudy and rainy on the evening that she had found out her mother would never be coming back home. But those were simply depressing thoughts.

Karin's ponytail swished softly as she turned her head to look at Toushirou. He, too, was staring up at the night sky. But Karin could see that even though his gaze was directed towards the sky, his thoughts weren't. With motives unknown even to herself, Karin stood and walked over to her teacher, and sat down behind him, so that they were back-to-back. She leaned back just slightly to rest her back against Toushirou's.

Turning his head slightly to look over his shoulder, Toushirou asked, "What?"

"Nothing. I just wanted something to lean against. Training is tiring, you know."

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Karin asked, "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

It seemed like an eternity before he answered. "A childhood friend."

That piqued Karin's interest. "From Soul Society, or from the real world?"

"Soul Society. I don't remember anything from the real world. Was too young, I suppose."

He was being more of a conversationalist than usual, Karin noticed. So she decided to take advantage of it. "So what about your childhood friend?"

There was another long pause between Karin's question and Toushirou's answer. "Do you know why your brother went to Soul Society in the first place?"

Come to think of it, she didn't. But what did that have to do with his childhood friend?

Correctly interpreting her silence as 'no,' Toushirou continued, "I guess it's about time that you find out the history behind all this arrancar business. After all, you're involved now."

Without even waiting for her to reply, he launched into the story. "Three years ago, your brother charged off to Soul Society to rescue Kuchiki Rukia." Karin's eyes widened as she processed this information. Now she knew why her brother and Rukia were so close.

Laughing, Toushirou put a hand to his forehead. "I still can't believe that they actually succeeded. Punching through the barrier of sekkiseki (spirit reducing stone), evading a city full of shinigami ordered to capture on sight, and actually blocking the Soukyoku..." But his tone regained its serious timbre and he added, "Kuchiki's crime - giving your brother her shinigami powers - never warranted anything as serious as an execution. But the plot to have Kuchiki executed had only been part of a bigger plan. A plan that included the treason of three of Soul Society's captains. The main perpretator of the plan was Aizen Sousuke; his goal was to attain the hougyoku."

The word 'hougyoku' registered in Karin's brain. Toushirou had mentioned it before...

"The hougyoku allows hollows to attain the powers of shinigami, and vice versa. Turns out that Urahara had embedded the hougyoku in Kuchiki Rukia's soul, which is what brought both her and Ichigo into all this mess."

And then, Toushirou didn't say anything for the longest time. Finally, he spoke again, in a much quieter voice. "My friend... Hinamori Momo, was Aizen's lieutenant. She trusted in him completely, and when he told her that I was the one plotting against Soul Society... she believed him." He laughed bitterly. "She hasn't quite been the same since Aizen's betrayal." He put his head in his hands. "She tried to commit suicide, and was declared a danger to herself and imprisoned in an asylum, guarded by the Onmitsu Kidou."

As dimwitted as she was about emotions - something she automatically associated with 'touchy-feely-stuff' - Karin could tell that Toushirou was no longer talking about what had happened in Soul Society. He was confiding in her. It was both heart-warming and frightening, to see the captain's omnipresent composure melt away, leaving a lost young-man in its wake.

Karin regretted ever having wanted to know her teacher's thoughts. She had no words of comfort to give, and even if she did, she wasn't entirely sure whether Toushirou would appreciate them. Instead, Karin made a move to go, thinking it would be best to leave him alone in this moment. But before she could get up and leave, Toushirou grabbed her arm. "Don't..."

Karin looked at him questioningly. "Don't... what?"

Karin's eyes met with Toushirou's. She saw his adam's apple move as he swallowed.

"Don't go..."

His eyes silently added, _'Not after I just revealed everything to you...'  
_

Wordlessly, Karin sat down again, this time, beside Toushirou. Their faces were dangerously close, and for the thousandth time, Karin could see that Toushirou's eyes were a crystalline blue, hauntingly beautiful in the moonlight. Even when they seemed hopelessly lost.

Turning his head head to face her face, Karin asked quietly, "Then should I stay? Even if I can't do anything for you?"

When he leaned forward and captured her lips with his own, she took that as a yes.

...

Karin was in a sort of stupor as she went through her most recent morning routine, which included washing her face, doing her homework, eating, and then brushing her teeth. She was so unlike herself that her family wondered, but didn't quite dare ask, what was wrong.

She had kissed Toushirou. She had kissed her teacher. Karin's cheeks were stained red, and Yuzu asked her worriedly, "Do you have a fever, Karin-chan?"

Shaking her head violently and murmuring a 'no,' Karin tried to erase the scene from her mind. It had to be a mistake.

_'Yeah, that's it. I must have been really tired from training...'_

But she couldn't deny her feelings. _  
_

...

_**Hueco Mundo: Las Noches**_

"Are you prepared?"

From the shadows along the edges of the throne room, three figures dressed in white hakama stepped out, coming to stop and kneel in a triangular formation in front of Aizen's throne.

At the front of the triangle was the Cuatro (fourth) Espada, with his green eyes and face markings set upon a pale complexion, the remnants of his hollow mask on the upper left side of his head. Behind him were the Quinto (fifth) and Decimo (tenth) Espadas.

Ulquiorra, looking up from his servile position, answered, "We are ready, Aizen-sama."

"Then go forth, my Espada."

And so Ulquiorra, Gartuano, and Yami were dispatched from Las Noches to bring back their pre-vaizard target: Kurosaki Karin.

...

_**Real World: Karakura Town**_

It was during her Level Two English class that Karin felt enormous spiritual pressures suddenly impeding upon Karakura's spiritual boundaries. No one else seemed to notice, and the teacher continued to recite, "- pay attention to subject-verb issues while you write - "

Without even pausing to think, Karin swallowed a pill of Soul Candy and burst forth from her physical body, exiting through the open classroom window.

Halfway to the area from which Karin could feel the arrancar, Karin met up with Ichigo and Rukia, both coming from the direction of Karakura High-School.

"Ichi-nii! Rukia!"

Ichigo's eyes widened when he saw Karin. He shouted at her, "Karin! This time, you aren't going! There's only three of them anyway! Leave them for Renji and the others!"

About to protest, Karin was surprised to find that she was being held in place by her older brother's body.

"Don't let her out of your sight, Kon!"

Whatever was occupying Ichigo's body saluted the best it could with both his hands holding fast onto Karin's wrists. "Got it, Ichigo!"

Struggling, Karin growled, "Let… Go! I have to go fight!"

Sighing, the thing occupying her brother's body said, "I always thought you were the most sensible among your siblings, but I must have been wrong."

Frowning, Karin snarled, "What do you mean? Who are you?"

"I'm Kon. I always substituted for your brother when he wasn't around."

Caught off guard, Karin's eyes widened, "Wait, so you're the one who always…" She trailed off.

"That's right. My name's Kon!"

Narrowing her eyes, Karin deadpanned, "You're that weird stuffed animal that Ichi-nii always keeps in his room, right? Yuzu calls you Bostafu."

"Hey, I'm not weird! I'm special! And my name is Kon! Not a strange name like Bostafu!"

It occurred to Karin that she didn't have time to talk to some weird stuffed-animal-Ichi-nii-replacement. Abruptly, Karin flexed her arms and rammed her head into Kon's jaw.

"Aghww…." was the only sound that Kon managed to make in retaliation.

It vaguely occurred to her that she had probably dislocated the jaw of her brother's body, but Karin didn't care. His grip had loosened, and that was all she needed. Karin jumped and twisted out of Kon's grip, and immediately started running. To her great surprise, Kon, clutching his jaw, sped up and caught up to her with ease.

"Heh, didn' know tha' I ha' speshul legh power, di' you?"

His speech was slightly queer, on account of his injured jaw, Karin supposed. Keeping her eyes forward, Karin replied, "Sorry. I don't have time to play with you."

Then, without even knowing the name of the technique, Karin used shunpo (flash-steps) for the first time.

...

Hitsugaya Toushirou had locked blades with Ulquiorra. Technically, it Toushirou's blade against Ulquiorra's iron skin. The Espada hadn't even drawn his sword yet. If they had been fighting a battle of physical strength - Toushirou's sword against Ulquiorra's skin - they would have been evenly matched; but battles between shinigami and arrancar were never that simple.

Toushirou could only agree with that textbook-styled assessment when Ulquiorra started firing off_ bala_ (hollow bullets) with his free hand. Cursing, the tenth division caption barely avoided the red blasts and retaliated by whipping the chain attached to Hyourinmaru, aiming to decapitate his opponent, or at least freeze one body-part. The arrancar avoided the comparatively slow motion of the crescent-shaped scythe with ease.

Scowling, Toushirou jumped backwards to increase the distance between himself and Ulquiorra. Hyourinmaru's ice-dragon attack materialized and whipped around to catch Ulquiorra's sleeve. Though the sleeve ripped, the Espada himself remained unscathed.

The silver-haired boy knew that he would have no choice but to release his bankai soon. But before that, he tried a different tactic.

"This is the second arrancar attack upon Karakura this week. What are your motives?"

Hyourinmaru's ice materialization swayed to and fro in the air in a hypnotizing manner. Of course, Toushirou didn't expect an answer from the arrancar. He was buying time.

Narrowing his eyes, Ulquiorra said, "Move aside. I have no interest in you."

_'So he is after something… But what?'_

Raising his zanpakutou to shoulder level, Toushirou said, "Sorry. That's not going to happen. **Bankai**."

Wings of ice sprouted from his shoulder blades and expanded, ice began to cover his limbs, extending into claws.

"Daiguren Hyourinmaru."

Ulquiorra didn't blink even once at the vast increase of spiritual pressure that the young captain before him was exerting. Gritting his teeth, Toushirou used shunpo to try and take advantage of the enemy from behind. But Ulquiorra's sonido was equal in speed to Toushirou's shunpo.

"Che…"

He was going to have one hell of a time trying to defeat this Espada.

"Toushirou!"

Distracted, Toushirou turned at Karin's voice. He had time to shout back, "Idiot! You - "

In the split second that Karin had broken Toushirou's concentration, Ulquiorra had already taken the initiative and blasted two hollow bullets towards the distracted captain. Then the Espada disappeared.

Having just managed to avoid the two hollow bullets, Toushirou was hard pressed to predict just where his opponent would attack from, but he turned just in time to parry Ulquiorra's bare-handed attack.

He couldn't concentrate on the battle; not when Karin was so close to danger. Hoping that she would listen to him, Toushirou shouted, "Stay back, Karin! All three of the arrancar are Espada! Get someplace safe!"

Ulquiorra's green eyes shifted towards the ponytailed female shinigami standing some distance behind the silver-haired captain. Spiritual energy practically flowed out of her, but she looked indecisive, as if she were unsure what to do.

Toushirou, noticing the shift in his opponent's attention, took advantage of the opening and swiped with the claws on his left hand, aiming for Ulquiorra's less guarded left side. Three parallel wounds sprouted from where the icy claws had contacted the Espada's skin. Shifting his attention back to Toushirou, Ulquiorra furrowed his brows very slightly and made an almost undetectable movement with his wrist. Suddenly, Toushirou's icy wings splintered into tiny shards of ice, which fell to the ground in a hailstorm of ice. Toushirou himself was blasted back several meters.

"Wha - "

"I'll only say it one more time. Move aside. I have no interest in you."

The pale arrancar's gaze was focused, not on Toushirou, but on the girl behind him.

Toushirou was sure now; the Espadas' intended target - Aizen's intended target - was Karin. But he wouldn't let them lay a finger on her. Not over his dead body. Tightening his grip on Hyourinmaru and starting to form his wings of ice again, Toushirou challenged, "And if I say no?"

Ulquiorra's only answer was to unsheathe his sword with one quick movement.

Red blood suddenly fountained from Toushirou's body, and the young captain fell to the ground.

...

Karin's eyes widened. Red droplets of blood arced through the air, and Karin could only stare helplessly as the body of the person she cared for fell from the air to crumple onto the ground in a clatter of ice and metal.

"Toushirou!"

He couldn't have been beaten that easily. He was so strong. But Karin couldn't feel his spiritual pressure. Ulquiorra, sheathing his sword once more, advanced upon Karin.

"Give up. Your precious comrade is dead."

The word 'precious' rang a familiar note inside Karin's head, as she continued to stare at Toushirou's body in disbelief. She had just been able to admit her feelings to herself that morning.

"Toushirou…"

Stepping closer to Karin, the pale shinigami commented, "You bore me. Calling his name isn't going to bring him back. Your brother and comrades cannot help you. So come quietly, or they will suffer the same death as that shinigami there."

_'I never had a chance to tell him that I liked him...'_

"Toushirou!" Karin screamed one last time before her spiritual pressure exploded into full force.

...

The hollow's mask had started to form around Karin's face. Her eyes were, once again, an eerie red, black and unfocused, her grin wide and sinister.

With a sudden compression of spiritual pressure, the hollow-Karin's eyes focused upon the closest sentient being: Ulquiorra. Her smile widened.

_**"Oh, so you're the one who let me out this time?"**_

The hollow-Karin unsheathed her zanpakutou leisurely, eyes dilating to create a mad look that could only be described as blood-thirstiness.

_**"Allow me to show - "**_ she disappeared, and reappeared right behind Ulquiorra, sliding the edge of her blade against his neck as a violinist would slide a bow,_** " - my thanks."**_

Before she could pierce his skin, however, Ulquiorra's blasted a sudden cero over his shoulder. Dancing out of the cero's destructive radius, the hollow-Karin laughed.

_**"What? That's all you've got? Then it's my turn now, isn't it?"**_

Grinning sadistically, the hollow-Karin held out her left palm, and sliced open her skin with the point of her blade. Smearing her blood over one side of the sword, she wordlessly activated Shinketsuen and amplified her shikai towards Ulquiorra. The blood-red flames whistled through the air and grazed Ulquiorra's mask. The arrancar's eyes widened.

Wiping her still-bleeding left palm on the surface of her sword once again, the hollow-Karin attacked once more, this time preparing a cero with her free hand. She laughed at Ulquiorra as he dodged her Shinketsuen's crimson flames.

The Fourth Espada was extremely reluctant to attack; but it seemed that at this rate, he would have no choice but to either retreat or to debilitate the girl to take her back to Hueco Mundo.

Before he could choose a course of action, however, Karin fired the cero that had been developing in her hand, swinging her sword at the exact same time as she released the golden-tinged attack. The flames spiraled around the cero, gaining speed as they headed towards Ulquiorra. Calm as ever, even in the face of a cero, the Espada held out his hand of iron skin to absorb the attack.

Karin's manic grin, now half-covered by her hollow mask, widened.

_**"Got ya."**_

The flames diverged from the cero to envelope the unsuspecting arrancar. The hollow-Karin laughed in the anticipation of spilling her opponent's blood.

But the blood never spilled.

Instead, the sky had split open like a hungry mouth, to reveal a tall, silver-haired man with mere slits for eyes, grinning widely.

"Ah… I guess Aizen-sama was right, then. T'think that three Espada could be driven over the edge so far…"

"Ichimaru-sama!"

The three Espada immediately went to Gin's side. At the same time, Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, and Rangiku appeared beside Toushirou's prone form. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Karin! How did you -"

Then he noticed the mask that had already three-quarters formed around Karin's face.

"No…"

The hollow-Karin paid no attention to Ichigo. Instead, she sneered at Gin and the three Espada,_** "So you think you can run away to your safe home in Hueco Mundo?"**_

The opening in the sky, the _garganta, _began to close.

_**"Don't make me laugh!"**_

Faster than the eye could follow, Karin dove through, following the Espada into Hueco Mundo, and sky closed seamlessly behind her.

...

**A/N:** Okay…. I'm officially dead now…. Battle scenes drive me crazy. Trying to explain things like moves and attacks and who did what make me want to make Fallen Souls into a doujinshi/fan-comic instead.

And as for romance scenes... well, they give me chicken skin/goose bumps if I just don't write them well.


	14. Hybrid

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** Scratch that. I think I've been waiting for this chapter for the LONGEST time ever! This is where I think I start to deviate from the rest of the Karin-turned-shinigami storline plots. Thanks you to those who review! I always appreciate it! (Especially to those who review for every chapter!) You guys make my day!

...

**Chapter 14** - Hybrid

...

"Karin!"

Ichigo cried out his younger sister's name as she disappeared and the sky zipped back to its normal state. He stared at the blue sky in disbelief. She had gone...

On the other hand, Rangiku was fretting over her captain. Toushirou's white haori was stained red with his blood, blossoming as his life's blood seeped out of him. It was starting to pool under him.

"Taichou!"

Renji hurriedly said, "I'll bring Orihime-san." with that, he used flash steps to move as quickly as possible.

Toushirou was alive; but barely. Each and every one of the shinigami could feel the tenth division captain's spiritual pressure flickering, like a dying flame.

It only took a minute for Renji to come back, but that minute seemed like ages, to all of the shinigami that stood by grimly.

When Orihime arrived upon the scene, Rangiku moved aside for her. As the girl set upon healing the tenth division captain, Renji and Rukia turned to Ichigo. Touching his elbow, Rukia started, "Ichigo…"

"Don't say anything… Don't say that it wasn't my fault." Ichigo said in a low voice.

Rukia sighed. "I wasn't going to. We have to think rationally." But her voice shook. She, as well as the other shinigami, knew all too well of the horrors that lay within Hueco Mundo. "Karin probably won't be killed as long as she's in her hollow state, and she's been able to break out that state before... What we need to worry about is how to get her back."

Though Ichigo gave no sign of having heard, Rukia continued, "We'll need to go to Urahara; he can open the gate to Hueco Mundo again. And we need to get Karin's body, if it's still probably at her school."

Staring straight at Ichigo, Renji said, "Don't fall apart over this, Ichigo. We have to get your younger sister back before it's too late."

Pulling himself together with enormous effort, Ichigo squared his shoulders. "Yeah. We have to get her back."

He refused to let himself think about what would happen if they were too late.

...

Rain was pouring up in sheets in the world of the Hanging Gardens. Every once in a while, thunder rolled and lightening lit up the sky, cracking upwards and narrowly missing the upside down structure. The stones were slippery with water, and everything was drenched, including a certain zanpakutou spirit. Shinketsuen's red hakama was completely wet, making its color seem almost black.

The storm had been raging for what seemed like hours; the wind blew fiercely , the water pounding and rebounding upon the stone surfaces of the hanging gardens.

_"Karin…"_

Soaked to the skin, the fourteen-year-old girl sat still, huddled beneath a tree. Her gaze was blank.

Brushing his brown hair - stringy and clumped from the rain - out of his face, Shinketsuen persisted despite Karin's lack of response.

_"Karin. Look at me."_

Still Karin sat, silent and unblinking. She shivered from the cold, but couldn't feel it.

Staring at the shell of the girl before him, Shinketsuen sighed and knelt in front of her. Gently, he said, _"Karin. I understand better than anyone else how you feel. But now isn't the time to grieve. Your soul is in Hueco Mundo, and you're in so much danger."_

Even through the rain, Shinketsuen could see Karin's tears. They spilled out of her eyes, and ran down the contours of her cheeks, eventually mixing in with the rain. She looked broken beyond repair.

Unable to do anything else, Shinketsuen sighed.

_"What would I know about comforting girls?"_

He plopped down beside Karin, splashing the girl even further. He hooked his arm around her neck.

_"Cry while you can, Crybaby. But you have to snap out of this soon. Or you might lose control permanently, and cease to exist."_

Even such ominous predictions did nothing to get Karin's attention.

...

Another few hours had passed. Shinketsuen grit his teeth. The weather hadn't been so bad in the Hanging Gardens since Karin's mother, Masaki, had died. He had moved both himself and Karin into a potentially drier place in the hanging gardens, but it wasn't making much difference. The wind was blowing the rain inside the crevice anyhow, and they were both still sopping wet. Another minute ticked by, and Shinketsuen began to pace about the relatively dry area of the crevice like an agitated lion.

_"Every minute you spend like this, the harder it's going to be to regain control over your body, you know that?"_

Finally, Shinketsuen lost his patience for the continually unresponsive girl. He snapped callously, _"Kurosaki Karin! Snap out of it! Stop wallowing in self-pity! So your teacher is dead! You lost control over your body to the hollow just because of that! You're pathetic, you know that!"_

That finally provoked a response from Karin. Turning her head slowly towards the Shinketsuen, she whispered, "So… he _is_ dead."

_Not_ the response that Shinketsuen had wanted. After Shinketsuen's patience had gone out the window, it didn't take much more for his temper to follow it. Infuriated, he knelt in front of Karin, grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently, shouting, _"What's wrong with you! There are people hoping, praying that you will go back to them! You family is worried about you! They're waiting for you!"_

"But Toushirou's not waiting for me. He can't…" Was Karin's dull answer.

Standing up again, he raged, _"If you're so broken up over Toushirou's death, if you're that sad and angry, then DO something about it! Get your revenge on the bastard that killed him!"_

Abruptly, the wind and the rain outside died down. After a moment, it started to snow softly instead.

Still dripping wet, Karin stood up rather unsteadily. Shinketsuen sighed. Snow wasn't much of an improvement over rain, but at least Karin wasn't sitting and crying any more.

Karin stumbled out of the dry crevice, back out into the open area of the Hanging Gardens, and looked into the no longer cared nor minded the way snow paradoxically drifted upwards.

"Snow..."

The sight the soft coldness in the form of snow made her heart feel like ice cold fingers were clenching around it._ 'Toushirou…' _She shut her eyes tightly, her heart feeling like it was breaking._  
_

Then she spoke; her voice was hoarse, but it still echoed through the world of the Hanging Gardens.

"I'm sorry I broke down like that. I should be strong, for Toushirou, shouldn't I?"

Shaking water out of his sleeves and following Karin out, Shinketsuen asked, _"So you've decided?"_

Turning around, Karin met her zanpakutou's eyes squarely.

"Yeah."

...

A figure dressed all in black stood at the center of a whirlwind of dust and fire. Hollows and a few arrancar here and there were getting torn to shreds around her. The hollow-Karin, her mask fully formed, was laughing dementedly, her sword a blur of heat and metal in the air. The already-arid air of the Hueco Mundo seemed to sizzle even further at Shinketsuen's powers. Sand welded together into lumps of silica and glass-like shards in the heat of fire.

_**"Haha! C'mon, is that all you've got! At least give me a little bit of challenge!"**_

There was an explosion of black flame, and there the roaring of fire could be heard echoing through the deserts of Hueco Mundo. All the hollows that had been in Karin's path disintegrated. Scratching her head, the hollow-Karin muttered, _**"Che, they're already finished?"**_

Looking around her as if looking for opponents, the hollow-Karin cursed, _**"Damn… if I hadn't lost those arrancar from before, I'd be having more fun right n- "**_

Abruptly, Karin's zanpakutou clattered to the ground.

**_"N- no!"_** The hollow screamed, resisting Karin's control. But Karin's spirit eventually overpowered the hollow's, and she regained control of her body.

The red and black eyes behind the hollow's mask faded back to plain black irises. But the mask remained.

Hands trembling, Karin reached up to touch her face. The mask was still there, hard and solid on her face.

_'Is it because I stayed too long as a hollow?'_

Suddenly afraid, Karin hooked the fingers of both of her hands around the edges of her mask and pulled. The mask wouldn't come off.

Gripped by fear and desperation, Karin tried one more time, ripping at the mask, and it finally broke with a loud cracking sound. Relieved immensely, Karin let the broken parts of her mask fall to the ground. She vaguely felt what remained of the mask on her forehead slide a bit to the side, riding on her dusty hair, but she completely forgot about it as she busily checked the other parts of her body. She still looked human. She was especially relieved that she didn't have any hole in her torso. The skin on her face was still smooth, and she was still herself.

She wasn't a hollow.

She wasn't dead.

But a slight weight on the left side of her head reminded Karin of the remnants of her mask. Tentatively, Karin put her hand up to her head to feel it. Feeling the surface of the mask, running her fingers over what seemed like the upper half of the eye socket and some teeth, Karin shuddered. She pulled at it, hoping it would come off in her hands. It didn't. Then, Karin's gaze fell on the ground, and she remembered that she had dropped her zanpakutou. Hastily, she picked up Shinketsuen and sheathed him.

Looking sadly at her zanpakutou, Karin whispered, "Thanks for helping me back up, buddy."

They weren't empty words; but she wished her heart wouldn't ache so much while she said them. _'Toushirou's gone, and you can't bring him back, no matter how much you want to.'_ She told herself sternly.

She tried to focus on other things, like her surroundings. The desert. The strange, withered trees. The looming white fortress ahead of her. But the dull ache in her heart wouldn't go away.

"Well, well… What have we here?"

Hearing a voice from behind her, Karin whipped around half-way, to see an arrancar standing behind her, both his mouth and the jaws of what remained of his hollow-mask grinning at her in a predatory manner.

Automatically, Karin put her hand on the hilt of her zanpakutou. She hadn't felt the arrancar approach at all, but now that she was aware of his presence, she could feel the power radiating from him.

She examined him out of the corner of her right eye. He wore the customary white-hakama that all other arrancar wore. His stance was lazy and laid-back, but he had no openings nor weaknesses to be seen. His spiky hair rustled in the wind, the blue shade of his hair coordinated with the blue markings on the edges of his eyes, as well as his blue irises. His irises made Karin shiver; though the colors were similar, the eyes themselves were so different from Toushirou's…

But she couldn't think about that now.

"This is the third time a shinigami managed to land in Hueco Mundo. And I guess I get to greet you first." His voice was absolutely dripping with blood-lust now, and he looked hungry.

She probably didn't have a chance, Karin knew, but she drew her sword anyway, and turned to face the arrancar fully. When she had turned to face him, however, the arrancar's eyes widened. She saw his gaze focus not on her face or her body as a whole, but on the remains of the mask on the left side of her head. He asked in an uncertain voice, "What the hell are you?"

_'I was wondering the exact same thing.'_ Karin thought wryly.

At least his voice had gone from blood-thirsty to just unsure. But Karin kept her hand on the hilt of her sword just in case, as she answered in as careless a tone she could manage, "How the hell would I know something like that?"

Narrowing his eyes, the arrancar disappeared with a flash, reappearing right in front of Karin. He whispered dangerously, "Don't talk to me in that tone. I am Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, the Sexta (sixth) Espada! I could kill you in a mere second!"

As his spiritual pressure expanded to envelop her, Karin didn't doubt his claim. Intimidated, Karin stared back at the irate arrancar, her eyes wide with ill-concealed fear. But the arrancar that called himself Grimmjow suddenly grinned at her and leaned back.

"I _could_ kill you... but I won't. It's not everyday I see weird hybrids like you walking around Hueco Mundo."

Karin continued to openly stare at the arrancar. The Espada in front of her was making her reconsider her rather limited theory about hollows that started and ended with 'all hollows are primitive monsters.' Maybe arrancar didn't quite count.

Absently scratching at his collarbone, Grimmjow tilted his head and asked, "What's your name, Hybrid?"

Swallowing to find her voice, Karin finally cleared her throat and said warily, "Kurosaki Karin."

He raised an eyebrow at her answer. "Kurosaki, eh? What, are you related to Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Sighing irritably, Karin muttered, "How is it that everybody, shinigami or hollow, knows my brother?"

Grimmjow's eyes glinted. "So you're his younger sister…" Giving her a once over, Grimmjow finally commented, "I'm not so surprised. You remind me of him."

Seeing how Karin was still bent into a defensive stance, he sighed, "And put your sword away. I'm not going to kill you."

Before momentarily hesitating, Karin decided to give the rather human-like arrancar the benefit of the doubt, and sheathed her sword. She straightened from her stance, and asked, "So how do you know my brother?"

Looking annoyed in a way that seemed all too human, Grimmjow's mouth twisted as he replied, "I owe him."

He didn't elaborate. Seeing how worked up Grimmjow had gotten over the question concerning her brother, Karin wisely decided not to pursue the matter.

Then, abruptly, Grimmjow started walking away, towards the direction of the huge white fortress. She could see a tilted '6' tattooed onto his back. So their ranks were tattooed onto their bodies?

Suddenly, Karin frowned. What, was she just supposed to stand there, or did he expect her to follow him? Her question was answered when he peered over his shoulder and called back to her, "Oi, Hybrid! You coming or not?"

Looking ahead, Karin could see that the arrancar was headed towards the fortress. It was then she knew what she should do.

Trotting to catch up, Karin swore to herself that once she was inside the fortress, she would hunt down the arrancar that had killed Toushirou.

Provided she could stay alive until then.

...

**A/N:** I know, I'm having trouble trying to get the characters feelings across, in depth. She hasn't just forgotten about Toushirou because Grimmjow showed up. But this is where things start to get interesting.

I'm actually quite sorry I took so long to get to this turn in the plot.


	15. Camouflage

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** Maybe I will make this a Doujinshi (fan comic), for practice and fun… Hmm…

...

**Chapter 15** - Camouflage

...

_**Hueco Mundo: The Gates to Las Noches  
**_

The two figures stopped several hundred feet before the gates of the fortress. One was dressed completely in black, the other, taller figure dressed completely in white.

Annoyed and trying not to show it, the shorter and slenderer one of the two asked, "Why'd you stop?"

Glancing at Karin, Grimmjow set his jaw and suddenly said, "Take off your clothes."

Stepping backwards and crossing her arms over her torso defensively, Karin asked, startled, "Wh- what?"

Turning back towards her with an exaggerated patience that Karin was pretty sure he didn't have, Grimmjow punctuated, "Take. Off. Your. Clothes."

Okay, so she hadn't misheard him. But there was another, even more important question that needed to be asked.

"Why!"

Reading Grimmjow's face expression, Karin expected him to explode at her or even possibly even kill her. But to her surprise, he sighed, "You wouldn't survive for even a minute in Las Noches wearing shinigami clothes. Besides, you wear a kimono or something like that under the black, don't you?"

That insightful prediction really set her straight.

Feeling foolish, Karin complied and shed the dirty black hakama, which left her dressed in a thin white yukata. Though she felt exposed, Karin reluctantly piled her black clothes in a pile on the ground. She reddened as she felt Grimmjow's gaze linger over her, and she crossed her arms defiantly over her chest.

"Che, nothing to look at, anyhow." Karin reddened even further at that, but didn't quite dare make any comment in response. "At least your kimono is white. It'll attract less attention than your black clothes."

Then Grimmjow extended a hand and shot off what Karin recognized to be a 'hollow bullet.' She remembered all too clearly the last time she had saw it been used. The scene played clearly before her, a boy with silver hair dodging the red light from hollow-bullets, from the pale-faced shinigami…

Shaking her head and coming back down to earth, or rather, Hueco Mundo, Karin saw that the hollow bullet had completely incinerated her shinigami clothes. That did tick her off a little. Besides her thin yukata, her shinigami hakama had been her only clothes. Vein popping out of her head, her head creaked towards Grimmjow.

"Oi… You don't get the feeling that you're going overboard with this?"

"Shut up. Those clothes only make me want to do two things. Kill things or vomit on them." Grimmjow replied.

With that trite ending to the conversation, the two resumed their walk towards the fortress that Karin now knew was called 'Las Noches.'

...

_**Real World: Karakura Town**_

Toushirou jolted awake, covered in cold sweat and crusted blood. He tried to sit up, but failed, only managing to tumble out of the bed with a strangled groan of pain. Coughing, Toushirou tried to gain some sort of control over his body.

When Rangiku came barging into the room, Toushirou realized what a racket he must have made.

"Taichou…! You shouldn't be moving yet!"

She knelt beside her ailing captain and carefully tried to put him back into bed. He fended off her attempts and stood creakily on his own.

"Where… am I?"

"We're at Ichigo's home."

Taking him by the elbow and supporting him, Rangiku continued, "Orihime-chan had trouble healing you; the Espada that attacked you had very strong spiritual energy."

He looked around, it was Ichigo's home; he could recognize it. So the Espada were gone.

"Were there any casualties?"

There was a short pause before Rangiku answered, "No major injuries; nothing that can't be healed."

That was good. But something else bugged on his mind. After a moment of hesitation, Toushirou inquired, "Is Karin okay?"

When his lieutenant gave him no answer, Toushirou looked up. Rangiku couldn't meet his eyes; her face was downcast.

Fear flooded into his blue eyes.

"Matsumoto… Where's Karin?"

She avoided his desperate gaze. "She… entered into hollow state, and followed the arrancar into Hueco Mundo."

"WHAT!"

Toushirou couldn't believe his ears.

"She charged off into Hueco Mundo?"

Despite his weak physical state, Toushirou pounded his fist against the wall. The bookshelf creaked ominously.

The sudden noise immediately brought in more shinigami. Ichigo came in, his jaw looking a little red and swollen, followed by Rukia and Renji. Even Orihime came.

"Toushirou… you're awake?" That was Ichigo, looking sad and pathetic. And Toushirou knew why.

The irate captain yelled hoarsely, "Those arrancar were after Karin! They first sent the two Espada here to figure out who their target was, and then they sent three Espada to capture her!"

He collapsed back onto the bed, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Ichigo stared stonily at him. For the first time, Toushirou saw the orange-haired shinigami truly seem scared.

"They were after… Karin?"

Orihime wriggled her way through what seemed like a crowd of gigai-clad shinigami. Releasing her hairpins without even saying the incantation, she began to reject the wounds upon Toushirou's body.

"I'll try again. I'm sure it'll heal better this time."

Toushirou was enveloped in the golden light of her barrier once more.

"It's probably the Cuatro Espada that did this…" suppressing a shudder, Orihime mumbled, "His spiritual pressure is very powerful."

A frown was set deep into Toushirou's face. Rukia, seeing his face, explained, "Urahara is preparing the gate to Hueco Mundo as we speak."

"How long will it take?" asked Toushirou apprehensively.

"Five days. I don't know why; it would usually only take him several hours."

_'five days…'_ Toushirou felt his blood run cold, even though the glow of the Orihime's barrier was warm.

"You're telling me we have to count on her to survive in Hueco Mundo throughout five whole days before we can go and get her!"

There was no answer; because it was obvious. Instead, Renji said, "Soul Society refuses to aid in this matter. The commander wants you to focus on healing."

The silver-haired captain put his head in his hands. _'Karin…'_

...

"Kisuke-san… why did you lie to those shinigami?"

Ururu stood beside Urahara Kisuke in the candy shop. Jinta, too, was looking at the shop owner with a rather accusing glare.

"You already have a portal to Hueco Mundo, and you could have easily opened it when they came," stated the red-haired boy.

Before either of them could question him further, Urahara explained, "My goal is to see the end of the war between the shinigami and the arrancar. To do so, Karin-san must develop her powers. But Karin-san isn't quite like Ichigo-san. Her stamina cannot be as easily stretched as his, although her spiritual power is just as powerful."

"What does that have to do with leaving her to rot in Hueco Mundo?" asked Jinta, his tone still accusatory.

"I believe that the only way to defeat the arrancar is to defeat them from the inside out."

It was a necessary sacrifice, Urahara told himself.

...

Dinner with the Kurosaki family that night was rather strange. Yuzu looked from her brother to Karin, both of whom were acting strangely. Ichigo seemed to be unnaturally quiet, and Karin a little… different. At least, that was the only way to describe it.

"Hey Yuzu-chan can I have another bowl of soup?"

Since when had Karin called her 'Yuzu-chan?'

As soon as Yuzu haltingly handed the bowl over, Karin gobbled her third bowl down as if she'd starved for three days. But then again, Karin had been acting a bit differently lately…

...

Once they were upstairs, Ichigo said, "Could you tune down the act a little, Kon? I think Yuzu's starting to suspect something weird."

Kon snorted. "What, Ichigo? It's not enough that I'm in a _girl's_ body just keep your family from finding out that Karin's gone!"

Ichigo's face darkened. Realizing his mistake, Kon backed off quickly.

...

_**Hueco Mundo: Las Noches**_

As soon as Karin had set foot within Las Noches, she felt a prickling sensation ravage her nerves - the fortress was obviously packed with jittery, dangerously high spiritual energy.

Thankfully, the corridors were empty. Karin didn't think she could stand anyone else seeing her in her current attire. After weaving through a maze of corridors, Karin concluded that either Grimmjow had a really good memory, or else she was really bad with directions. She had already lost count of the many times they had turned right or left, much less remember the order.

After several more turns, Karin finally asked, "Where are we going?"

"To my rooms."

Karin blinked. Then, it occurred to her that arrancar were types of beings, and needed to rest too. She had just automatically assumed that they spent all their time killing things or preying on defenseless souls.

"Oh." was all Karin could think of as a reply.

After another bout of silence, Grimmjow finally asked, "How the hell did you get into Hueco Mundo anyways?"

Grimacing, Karin said, "I think my hollow-form decided that Hueco Mundo was a more suitable environment to find powerful opponents."

"Then your hollow-form was probably right."

From then on, the walk to Grimmjow's rooms seemed all too long, with Karin constantly glancing warily around for passerby.

After ten tense minutes of fast-paced walking down numerous white-washed corridors that all looked identical to each other, Grimmjow finally stopped in front of a doorway with the Arabic numeral '6' labeled on it. He pushed the door open, and motioned for Karin to go in.

What, did arrancar have a 'ladies first' rule too?

Karin realized that wasn't the case, however, when he ordered, "Wait here."

As soon as she walked into the room, Grimmjow shut the door on her. Karin frowned. She pushed at the door, wanting to demand what he wanted her to do inside a room. But the door didn't budge. All attempts at opening the door proved futile, so Karin gave up and surveyed the room instead.

It was huge, white - surprise surprise - and sparsely decorated. In fact, there was nothing beside a mammoth-sized coverless white bed. The room's most defining feature was a huge hole on the center of one wall, displaying the dark night sky, a wide view of the desolate lands of Hueco Mundo, and, best of all, the bright moon.

"I guess Hueco Mundo has a moon too, eh…"

She crossed over to the window-like hole and leaned a bit forward out of it; the night air was cool on her face.

_'I'll avenge your death, Toushirou.'_ Karin resolved. _'I can't continue to grieve, but I won't ever forget you.'_ Then Karin almost laughed. How could she forget Toushirou? He had been her teacher, and the first guy she had ever kissed. And it was a very real possibility he would be the last, Karin realized.

As she stared listlessly at the moon in the sky, Karin heard the door open. She turned around, and a bundle of cloth was promptly thrown into her face.

"Mph!"

"Put those on. I took 'em from a bastard that doesn't even need 'em. "

Taking whatever it was that Grimmjow had thrown at her off of her head, Karin saw that she was holding white cloth. As she shook it, it unfolded to reveal two articles of clothing that together, made up the stylized white hakama. Arrancar clothing.

Eying Karin critically, Grimmjow said, "On second thought, wash up first. You're a walking dirtball as you are, and you sure as hell aren't going to rub that dirt all over my room."

Great. Of all the arrancar, she had to meet one who had obsessive-compulsive-disorder. Even so, Karin suddenly became painfully aware of how dirty she was"Umm…. Where…?" Karin stammered. She had probably left a whole trail of sand from the entrance of Las Noches.

Promptly, Grimmjow pointed towards an adjoining chamber.

"Bathroom right there."

Spotting her look of surprise, Grimmjow drawled, "Believe it or not, arrancar care about hygiene too." Considering his own statement, he ratified, "Well, at least, some of us do. Aizen-sama is particularly picky about the Espada, since he drinks tea with us."

...

Upon entering the bathroom, Karin dropped the arrancar clothing on the ground. She noticed with vague distaste that her white yukata had sort of crusted to her form. Then she remembered the plastic vials of blood that she had stored at her waist-band. She laid those on the ground as well. After placing her zanpakutou carefully on top of everything, Karin made sure that the door between the bathroom and Grimmjow's room was locked, and finally peeled of her yukata.

"Ugh…"

That object composed of white thread and dirt would be one more thing Grimmjow could practice his hollow-bullets on.

Flicking off her hair band and walking over to what she supposed was the bathtub, Karin found herself perplexed. It was a plethora of buttons and taps.

"What the hell happened to the two-tap system?" She muttered, while trying to figure out what the taps could possibly be.

After a certain amount of experimenting, first burning her fingers on some sour-smelling acidic substance, then almost freezing her hand with some dry-ice like cubes that poured out, finally, Karin was able to get some respectable water - at least, it seemed like water - pouring out from the tap. It was cold, but it would have to do. Accidentally, her elbow nudged another button, and water started to pour out from above, not from any showerhead, but from the ceiling above the bathtub. It was strange, but workable. Karin preferred showers to baths anyhow.

Shuddering as she stepped into the cold shower, Karin initially felt extremely unhappy - cold showers were admittedly unpleasant - before her body adjusted to the ice-cold temperature. At least she felt substantially cleaner. Scrubbing herself the best she could with her own hands, Karin rinsed the excess of dust, oil, and blood off of her skin and hair. She had trouble washing her hair; first off, there wasn't any shampoo that was available in the bottle, though Karin wouldn't have been surprised if one of the many buttons caused it to come pouring out of the taps. Her hollow mask also got in the way, and Karin winced every time her fingers bumped against it on the left side of her head.

As she felt a stinging sensation in her left hand, Karin looked to discover a raw, red wound that she hadn't noticed before. It didn't take too much thinking to figure out that she had sustained the wound during the time period she had lost control over her body.

As she stepped out of the shower and started stabbing at several random buttons until the water stopped, Karin shivered from the cold. Karin quickly dried her body and hair with a scruffy towel that was thankfully available. Then she put on the clothes that Grimmjow had given her. It wasn't as complicated to put on as she had thought; it was a two-part hakama, with the pants and the shirt separated. The clothes weren't big; they actually fit quite well, besides the fact that they were a slightly tight at the hips and chest - Grimmjow had taken the clothes from another male arrancar, after all.

The shirt was turtle-neck styled, and had long sleeves that ended just before the ends of her fingertips. As she paused on the way out if the bathroom, Karin glimpsed her reflection on the wall-mirror. What she saw disturbed her. As her torso was fully covered by her shirt, no one could tell that she didn't have the customary hollow hole.

She looked exactly like an arrancar.

...

**A/N:** Whew, another chapter done. If you think my writing quality is falling, tell me. I think I may have to take breaks on weekends or something…


	16. The Ninth

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** Huggles reviewers! I love you guys! And I'm sorry this chapter came so late…

...

**Chapter 16** - The Ninth

...

Reluctantly, Karin came out of the bathroom in her new white hakama. Grimmjow was lounging on his bed. He looked up when she came in.

"Hmm, you make a convincing arrancar."

Karin plopped ungracefully onto the ground, looking glum. She privately agreed with his comment, but she wasn't sure if it was a good thing.

"By the way, you know that Aizen-sama is after you, right?"

Alarmed by the sudden statement, Karin looked up.

"What? You mean Aizen Sousuke?"

Grimmjow snorted, "Is there another?"

Sighing, Karin said, "Point taken. So what am I supposed to do? Just hide in your room or something?"

Looking disdainfully at her, Grimmjow commented, "You're a coward, aren't you?"

Instead of rolling her eyes and telling him that she had intended the comment to be sarcastic, Karin settled for a mere eyebrow-twitch. She had, to some extent, a sense of self-preservation.

Grimmjow turned his head away to stare out the window.

"Well, it doesn't matter either way, but I suggest that you come up with some sort of better way to disguise yourself. Ulquiorra, Gartuano and Yami all know what you look like."

"Who are they?"

"The three Espada that attacked you and your shinigami friends earlier today."

Karin's eyes widened. She stood up, and demanded, "Which one is the pasty-faced one, with the green face markings?"

Turning to look at her out of the corner of his eye, the arrancar answered, "Ulquiorra? He's the fourth Espada."

Hands curling into fists, Karin whispered, "Ul… quiorra…" Then, in a louder voice, she asked, "Why are they after me, anyways?"

Sighing, Grimmjow grated, "I hate explaining things, so I'll only say this once. Aizen-sama is after you because he wants to experiment on a pre-vaizard."

Seeing that the Sixth Espada was starting to lose his temper, Karin didn't ask was a 'pre-vaizard' was. It was enough to process that she wanted to be experimented on. Instead, Karin asked quietly, "Why are you doing this for me? If I'm the one Aizen Sousuke wants, shouldn't you just hand me over?"

Face twisting, Grimmjow replied, "I told you already; I owe your brother." Leaning back against the headboard of the bed, he continued, "Besides, I've never really played by the rules."

That didn't really answer anything, but Karin knew that it would be useless and potentially dangerous to press any further.

Eventually, Karin asked, "So do all arrancar have face markings?"

"No."

"Well, even if they don't, I suppose I could paint on my face for disguise."

"Whatever."

Suddenly, an idea struck Karin, and she untied her hair, letting it cascade down around her shoulders. "Maybe this'll make me harder to recognize!"

"Fuck it, I don't _care_, just shut up so I can sleep!"

...

Karin was hungry. It was only after her stomach twinged several times with hunger that Karin realized that she hadn't eaten in over three-quarters of a day. But she didn't even bother looking around Grimmjow's Spartan-styled rooms for food. She wasn't that stupid. Besides, did arrancar even eat human food? Karin did remember Grimmjow mentioning something about tea…

About to ask the arrancar if there was any food in Los Noches, Karin noticed that cyan eyes were closed; he was asleep. Taking the chance to examine the Espada closer, Karin hugged her knees and stared. She was trying to figure out what was so familiar about his sleeping figure when it occurred to her how similar Grimmjow was to Ichigo. They were both strong, and they both scowled in their sleep.

Well, maybe they weren't _that_ similar, but that was similar enough for Karin.

Karin decided that food could wait. She wasn't _so_ hungry that she was willing to get lost in a huge fort that was filled to the brim with arrancar. Leaning against the wall, Karin, too, fell asleep.

...

Karin woke up to a foot nudging her in the stomach.

"Oi, wake up."

Eyes flickering open, Karin groggily slapped the white-sandaled foot away from her.

"Urgh…"

She swiped at her eyes and yawned. Staring up at the tall arrancar - that seemed even taller than usual, seeing how she was on the floor - Karin groused, "What do you want…"

Crouching so that he was eye-level with her, Grimmjow growled, "You've got a lot of nerve to be talking to me like that, Hybrid."

Karin, too sleepy to be affected by Grimmjow's monstrous spiritual pressure, waved him off with a, "So you've got authority issues. Whatever. If you'd wanted to kill me, you already would've."

Finally sitting up, Karin asked, "You got any food?"

After regarding her with unreadable cyan eyes and furrowed brows for a moment, Grimmjow turned on his heel and said, "Follow me."

Weaving through several corridors, Karin, feeling substantially more awake but no less bold, asked peevishly, "How the hell do you keep track of this huge fortress anyways? The halls all look the same to me."

As Karin realized what she'd just said, or rather, how she'd said it, she winced. Which appendage would Grimmjow cut off? To her surprise, Grimmjow only snorted, "You talk too much."

Karin perked up noticeably when she smelt an aroma wafting from one of the open doorways. It was that doorway that Grimmjow walked through. Eager for food, Karin scurried in after him... Only to jump back to see another arrancar standing inside, chewing busily on something. Upon seeing Grimmjow enter, the arrancar saluted cheekily and said, "Ah, Grimmjow-sama! Feeling peckish again?"

"Shut up…"

The brown-haired arrancar's gaze turned towards a very stiff Karin, and asked curiously, "And who might this be?"

Karin didn't quite dare answer. She didn't quite dare hide behind Grimmjow either. But Grimmjow answered for her, "She's Karina Incendia. Found her wandering around Hueco Mundo so I picked her up."

Bending to examine Karin even more closely, the arrancar asked, "So she's a natural arrancar?"

Grimmjow didn't bother to answer; instead, he grabbed a shriveled orange fruit and sank his teeth into it, cursing as it squirted an alarming amount of juice onto his fingers. With his clean hand, he pushed Karin over to a bubbling pot.

"Eat. Didn't you say you were hungry?"

Peering into the pot, Karin completely forgot about being stiff in front of the other arrancar and protested, "Are you telling me to eat this!"

Rolling his eyes, Grimmjow simply shoved a spoon into her face.

She wrinkled her nose. But she took the proffered spoon.

The soup-like substance was a pale beige color, and smelled like rotten eggs. She'd read somewhere that things that smelled bad were toxic… But she ladled some up and tried it anyways. Yes. She was _that_ hungry.

And she was pleasantly surprised.

"Hey, this is good!"

After the first spoonful, Karin ate with much more vigor. She was just about on her twelfth spoonful when she felt yet anther arrancar approach. She heard the kitchen door creak open.

"Grimmjow?"

The blue-haired arrancar looked up at his name. His eyes narrowed. "Neliel."

A curvaceous woman with mint-colored hair had entered the room. She had a scar on her face, her hollow mask also missing a few teeth.

But she was powerful, that much Karin could tell.

Neliel's gaze focused upon the other two. The brown-haired arrancar bowed deeply and murmured, "Neliel-sama."

Karin, still unsure of how to greet the woman, just stared. The brown-haired arrancar jammed her head down into a bow with one hand and said,

"Forgive her, Neliel-sama. She's new to Las Noches, Grimmjow-sama only brought her here recently…"

To the arrancar's surprise, Neliel simply waved her hand and said, "Who cares about etiquette? I came here to eat." Reaching out for one of the dried oranges, Neliel stuffed it into her mouth whole. "Mmm… I love dried naranjas."

With an audible swallow, Neliel took two of the dried oranges and offered one to Karin, who stood by silently.

"Here, try one. What's your name?"

All too aware of Grimmjow's warning gaze on her back, Karin stammered out what she could remember.

"Karin..a… Incendia." She took the fruit.

"Grimmjow must really have been interested in you if he actually brought to Las Noches here himself."

All of a sudden, Grimmjow said, "Jeraldo, out. I need to talk with Neliel."

Though the brown-haired arrancar seemed confused that Karin was allowed to stay, he grabbed one last dried naranja before backing out of the room respectfully. As soon as the door had closed behind Jeraldo, Neliel glanced at Grimmjow. "What, is it about how impossible you think my plan is? Because if that's it, you made it perfectly clear the last time we talked."

Karin felt as she had trampled into the middle of a conversation, even though she knew that this was not the case. To describe the situation more accurately, she simply had no idea what the two arrancar were talking about. Plan?

"It's not about your stupid plan," Grimmjow dragged Karin over with a long arm and forced Karin to look up at Neliel. "It's about _this. _Her real name's Kurosaki Karin."

Karin resented being resented being referred to as 'this,' though the mess she was in fully warranted such a label. As for Neliel, the female arrancar seemed to be taken aback for a moment. "Kuro..saki…? As in, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

_'Ah, yet another acquaintance of Ichi-nii.'_

A wide grin spread of Neliel's face and she put both of her hands on Karin's shoulders. "So that's why your face seemed so familiar! You look a lot like your brother, the eyes and the face expression especially!"

Suddenly, turning serious, she asked, "But what are you doing in Las Noches? And that mask…?" She trailed off, her face showing comprehension. She was quick on the uptake. "So you're the one that Aizen wants."

Grimmjow snarled, "Don't say his name so casually!"

Raising an eyebrow, Neliel said, "Does it matter? I know your allegiance doesn't lie with that man; neither does mine."

"What can two Espada do against eight Espada?"

Faking a huge yawn, Neliel said, "You know, there's actually only nine total Espada right now… So technically it's just two against seven."

"Then the Numeros will probably be fighting over the spare seat soon." Grimmjow stated with disdain. "It'll be back to two against eight by then."

Karin's flitted back and forth between the two arrancar as they exchanged what seemed like cryptic sentences to her. Allegiance? Two against seven? Two against eight? Numeros? But before that… "So you're an Espada too?" Karin blurted out.

"The Tercera Espada. I'm the third strongest arrancar in Hueco Mundo." Neliel grinned and continued, "I'm stronger than Macho-Guy here."

She ruffled Grimmjow's hair, who yowled in protest, baring his teeth at the female arrancar. Ignoring Grimmjow, Neliel thoughtfully reached out for another dried orange, commenting, "I'm surprised that the Numeros arrancar haven't already started duking it out like primitive beasts, hoping to become the new Noveno (ninth) Espada. And it's not like we're ready to execute the plan yet, either."

Grimmjow growled, "What do you mean, 'we?' Fuck your plan; it's impossible."

But an idea seemed to occur to the green-haired arrancar. Squinting down at Karin, Neliel said, "Hey, if you're anywhere near as strong as Ichigo is, given a bit of training, you could fill in for the spot of the ninth Espada."

"Pfft… as if a brat like her could ever..." scoffed Grimmjow. When Neliel elbowed him, he scowled and admitted grudgingly, "But then it would be three against seven, I suppose…"

Neliel seemed enamored with idea. "The Numeros (two-digit arrancar) don't stand a chance against Ichigo, and Karin's spiritual power seems to have about the same potential as his... My plan may not be so impossible anymore..."

The mere idea alarmed Karin.

"I'm not a hollow, much less an arrancar! Besides, I'm not strong enough!"

Wearing what seemed, to Karin, almost like an evil smile, Neliel said, "That can be ratified."

...

And so Karin had been training in a large, dome-like chamber for the last hour, fighting grimly against Grimmjow under the supervision of Neliel and two of her arrancar comrades.

"What's wrong? Put some strength into your blows, Hybrid!"

Gritting her teeth, Karin swung her released zanpakutou in an arc, only to have the flames recede merely from Grimmjow's projected spiritual energy. The Espada seemed to be losing patience. He was putting more force behind his blows, each strike stronger and faster than the last.

Finally, he snarled, "If you think you can become an Espada as you are, then you're out of your mind, kid!" He fired a cero at Karin, who grit her teeth and jumped out of its destructive rays.

"I. Never. Said. I wanted. To. Become. An. Espada!" Karin punctuated between parrying blows that were obviously weak in comparison to Grimmjow's offensive blows. He narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, really?."

His spiritual energy flared, almost visible and tangible in the air. Karin swallowed, but stood her ground. Sweat dripped down her temples. "If you're gonna attack me with weak resolve like that, then I'll have to kill you. Useless trash like you are better off dead than hindering others."

Disappearing and reappearing alarmingly close to Karin, Grimmjow slashed viciously downwards with his sword, breaking Shinketsuen and cutting Karin diagonally across her stomach.

...

All this while, Neliel watched coolly from the sidelines.

"Neliel-sama… shouldn't we do something?"

As Dondochakka nervously watched the battle, Neliel simply answered, "No. Just watch."

...

Falling to her knees, Karin coughed out blood. As she slumped to the ground, chin jarring painfully against the ground, she could faintly hear Grimmjow saying, "Pathetic…"

Her vision started to tunnel, blurring everything. But as everything ran together, Karin saw something red approach. She didn't even have to guess who it was. His energy was recognizably, and exactly the same as her own.

She breathed, "Shinketsuen."

Her zanpakutou looked down at her and ordered,_ "Get up."_

He held out a hand for her to grab a hold of. Karin would have shaken her head if she hadn't felt so dizzy and weak. Blood-loss was starting to get to her.

"I can't…"

Shinketsuen still held out his hand.

_"Do you want to get stronger?"_

She _did_ want to get stronger; more than anybody could imagine. She whispered, "Yes…" Recalling turquoise eyes and silver hair, she said more loudly, "Yes."

She took Shinketsuen's hand.

...

When a dense spiritual pressure suddenly filled the room, Grimmjow stiffened. Slowly, he turned around to look at Karin, who had gotten to her feet. The blood flow that was spilling out from her stomach seemed to be stemming, the blood that had already dripped out rapidly evaporating into the air that was packed with steaming hot spiritual pressure.

Wiping the blood off her mouth with hand, Karin said, "Sorry for making you wait, Grimmjow."

Without even having to yell the activation phrase, Karin released Shinketsuen again, flames spiraling around the blade to make a dark crimson whirlwind of flame. Lunging forward, Karin released the flames, which tore through the air. It cleaved a clear path through the white marble floor, each tendril of flame as sharp as a sword with the concentration of Karin's spiritual energy.

Had Grimmjow not hastily dodged the blow, he would have sustained several fatal cuts and burns. As it was, he had escaped with a several grazes.

The flames dispersed, and Karin panted, "See? I'm getting… stronger…"

Appearing beside Karin, Neliel caught the girl before she collapsed. Karin's stomach wound began to bleed again, albeit sluggishly.

But Karin could not lose consciousness. Not when she could feel_ his_ spiritual pressure so close by. _'Ulquiorra.'_

"What are you doing?" A dull, cold voice asked. Grimmjow froze. On the other hand, Neliel straightened, unperturbed, still supporting Karin.

Behind her curtain of black hair, Karin immediately identified the slayer of Toushirou. She ground her teeth, but one sideways look from Grimmjow, her bleeding wound, and Neliel's firm grip kept her from attacking the arrancar. Neliel nodded towards Ulquiorra, acknowledging the lower-ranked Espada.

"Ulquiorra. Did you come to see what all the racket was about?"

Ulquiorra's green gaze trailed from a slightly injured Grimmjow, to Neliel, to the bleeding Karin. Whether he noticed that Karin was staring holes into his feet, Karin didn't know.

Grimmjow knew he had to think of something before Ulquiorra discovered that the girl in Neliel's arms was Karin. He hastily supplied, "I was… testing to see if Karina Incendia was worthy of becoming my Fraccion."

"Your Fraccion? Your subordinate arrancar?" Ulquiorra's cold voice was skeptical.

"Yeah." Grimmjow replied defiantly.

Looking once more at the silently seething girl, Ulquiorra articulated. "I…see."

Karin met Ulquiorra's green eyes venomously.

Narrowing his eyes combatively, Grimmjow ground out, "What's with that tone?"

Abruptly, Ulquiorra turned and walked away. "Who you make your Fraccion is none of my concern. I merely thought it strange that you should suddenly select a Fraccion when you have not bothered to do so for years."

Leaving behind that skeptical note, Ulquiorra disappeared.

Karin clenched her fists. _'I've__ found__ you__.'_

Now all she needed to do was get stronger.

...

A/N: Alright… I tired…. And I didn't really like this chapter, but I wanted to update it anyways. I might tweak it later on, though.

And what is Neliel's plan? That's up for the future chapters to determine, though most of you have probably already figured out what it is in general.


	17. Merging

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** Hiya! I'm back after a much needed one day break, and YAY it's daylight saving time now!  
Actually, it wasn't really a break. I spent the most of yesterday drawing a fanart of my fanfic.

You can find it here: http:/crystallinex. deviantart .com/art/Flames-of-Revenge-Fallen-Souls-69015812**  
(copy and paste, and get rid of the spaces around 'deviantart'... I don't understand why this site doesn't let me post links...)**

LOOK AT IT **AFTER** YOU READ THIS CHAPTER! _** AFTER! **_

Edit: So I edited this chapter, to make later chapters make more sense.

...

**Chapter 17** - Merging

...

_**Hueco Mundo: Las Noches**_

With Grimmjow and Neliel called away to an Espada meeting with the three ex-shinigami, Karin was left to her own devices. Though it was comparatively restful, Karin was still training.

Specifically, she was meditating.

It was still snowing in the Hanging gardens. Shinketsuen looked sourly at Karin, his lips faintly blue from the cold.

_"I hate snow, you know that? Make it stop snowing, or get me out of here."_

Karin held out a hand, catching a small clump of snow as it floated upwards. It melted in her hand, leaving her hand slightly damp. She smiled, and replied, "Really? I've always like snow."

Shaking his head and spraying bits of slush everywhere, Shinketsuen retorted,_ "That's because you aren't living in it. The igloo I built is the only thing keeping me from freezing."_

Rolling her eyes, Karin said, "Oh please. Like a zanpakutou could actually freeze to death. You don't even need to eat."

The boy turned his nose up at Karin's statement. But before he could answer, Karin suddenly felt a familiarly disturbing spiritual pressure appear in her world. A pale figure hurled upwards to land in the center of the hanging gardens.

**"Why, if it isn't Mistress weakling?"**

The voice of Karin's inner hollow's was filled with malice. A twisted grin was on her white face. Karin narrowed her eyes.

"Give it up. You lost the moment I broke the mask off."

Black and red eyes pierced through Karin. **"Do you really think so..?"** As soon as she had come, she was gone. Karin blinked. Had it been a mere illusion? But Shinketsuen's painful grip told her otherwise. He looked at Karin and said, _"Be careful. She's looking for weaknesses."_

Karin gulped. But it continued to snow, and she shivered. Changing the subject, Karin admitted, "Yeah, it must be cold here. I'm sorry it keeps snowing."

Shinketsuen turned back to Karin, eying her shrewdly and asking,_"Why don't you just materialize me outside of this place?"_

Karin frowned. "Wait, is that possible?"

Slapping his forehead, Shinketsuen remarked to thin air, _"Now, she's already summoned me twice already, so I wonder. Is it possible?"_

So apparently it was.

...

It took her a couple of tries, but Karin was finally able to bring Shinketsuen out with her from her meditation state.

Shaking his damp sleeves to dry them, Shinketsuen commented,_"That's better. At least I won't freeze now…"_ Turning to Karin, he continued, "and while we're at it, why don't I train you, for a change?"

What, was everybody out to train her? First Toushirou, then Grimmjow and Neliel, and now even her own zanpakutou?

At her incredulous look, Shiketsuen said, _"Don't look at me like that. I know you're itching to get stronger. Why waste time waiting for those two arrancar? I can train you."_

Karin couldn't, and didn't care to deny it. It was true; she wanted to get stronger.

"How will you train me?"

Shinketsuen smiled as if he'd been waiting for her to ask; which of course, he had been.

_"Like this."_

He snapped, and what seemed like hundreds of flaming boulders fell from the ceiling. Karin jumped away in the nick of time to avoid a particular ball of flame that embedded itself in the marble tile upon which she had been standing just moments before. Upon closer inspection, Karin saw that they were not boulders on fire, but large eggs that, when upright, reached above her waist. Karin eyed the eggs warily, as all of them cooled down, the fires receding.

Suddenly, Shinketsuen smashed one egg open with his fist, taking out a flaming sword from within. Karin immediately groped for the zanpakutou that she always wore at her waist, to discover, dismayed, that it wasn't there.

As Shinketsuen started to rush towards her, Karin hurriedly kicked an egg and broke it, reaching inside flames to grab what she hoped would be sword. The flames didn't burn her arm or hand. As she pulled the sword out, Karin saw that the sword looked exactly like Shinketsuen. But it didn't feel anywhere near as reassuring as her real zanpakutou. But she parried Shinketsuen's sword just in the nick of time, only to hear the sound of splintering metal

...

Countless eggshells lay broken to pieces on the marble floor. There were just as many broken swords scattered across the ground; useless, defeated lumps of metal that were only good for one thing.

"Ouch!" Karin hastily jumped up, having stepped on a shard of one of the broken swords. Her straw sandals were torn, and Karin realized that she would have to ask Neliel for proper arrancar sandals. At this point, she would have to ask for new clothes, too. There were many rips and tears in the white hakama, and Karin sustained an equal amount of scratches and cuts.

She defended herself from yet another one of Shinketsuen's blows.

_"Put some backbone into it!" _shouted Shinketsuen.

It was only after the first minute of fighting Shinketsuen that Karin had realized just how ferociously powerful Shinketsuen was. He was fast and tireless, always pushing Karin back, her raggedy sandals skidding against the white marble tiles. Shinketsuen broke the sword within Karin's hands for the twentieth time. Cursing, Karin split open another egg and withdrew a smoking sword from its depths, managing to block Shinketsuen's attack in time. Letting the momentum of her block seep upwards, Karin took the chance to slide her sword along the edge of Shinketsuen's to finally counterattack.

Finally, it was Shinketsuen's sword that broke. But as Shinketsuen was about to crack open another egg, Karin staggered to her knees. Shinketsuen, instead of breaking open the egg, grumbled,_ "I guess this is it for today…"_

And then he disappeared, along with all the enormous sword-filled eggs. The dome-shaped building that had become Karin's training center was empty.

Karin only had the time to wonder where everything had gone before she fell unconscious.

...

When she woke up, Karin was in a bed. Ah. It was one of those days. One of those days where she just fell unconscious and woke up an hour later to find that she was somewhere else. And if the trend continued, of course, someone would show up right about…

"Karin?"

Now.

Sitting up slowly as Neliel entered the room - which was even bigger than Grimmjow's room - Karin was surprised with how little her body hurt. The stomach wound that Grimmjow had give her had already closed, and the various cuts and scrapes that had resulted in battling with Shinketsuen were already gone.

Neliel perched on the edge of the bed and remarked, "Grimmjow and I came back from the Espada meeting - which was about you, by the way - and we found you unconscious, so we took you to get healed."

Spotting the look of horror in Karin's face, Neliel said, "No, they didn't find out who you were. I think the healers figured that the hole was somewhere on your chest. Grimmjow killed them anyway, just to make sure." Karin winced. She hadn't needed to know that.

Cocking her head and looking at Karin curiously, Neliel asked, "What were you doing while we were gone, anyways? How did you get injured in so many places?"

"I was sparring with Shinketsuen."

Startled, Neliel exclaimed, "You materialized your zanpakutou?"

Karin shrugged, "It wasn't that hard, but it took me a few tries to get it right."

Giving Karin an odd look, Neliel looked as if she were about to say something, but she instead shook her head and changed the subject.

"Aizen will be selecting the Noveno Espada in two days. That's when all the Numeros will start warring over the spot."

Squaring her shoulders, Karin said, "Two days is plenty of time."

Clapping Karin on the back, Neliel said, "That's the spirit! If you become the Novena Espada, it'll really help out my plan!"

It was then that Karin finally asked what had been bugging at her since Neliel had first mentioned 'the plan.'

"What is your plan, anyways?"

Smiling mischievously, the green-haired arrancar answered, "It's a plan to destroy Aizen's regime in Hueco Mundo from inside out."

"… Is that it?"

Neliel's smile turned steely. "Not quite. That's just the generalities. I have several Fraccion and twenty-three of the more intelligent Numeros behind me on this. And Grimmjow, of course. And with the right battle plan, that's all the arrancar we'll need."

Furrowing her brow Karin asked, "So you and Grimmjow plan to take on the rest of the Espada all by yourselves?"

"Well, that was my original plan, but you came along, and that'll make things easier of course. As for the Primero (first) and Segundo (second) Espadas, we'll have to imprison them temporarily in another dimension with Caja Negacion (Box of Negation). While they're trapped, we can defeat the rest of the Espada, which will leave the path to the Aizen clear."

Even Karin, who knew nothing about battle plans, could see gaping holes within Neliel's plan. No wonder Grimmjow had called it stupid and impossible! But Karin refrained from making any sort of comment on the plan.

Instead, she got out of the bed and said, "Can you take me back to that dome-place? I want to go back to training, and I can't really find my way around this place"

Ruffling Karin's hair, Neliel said, "Sure thing. But first, lets get you some new clothes and sandals."

When Karin's stomach growled, Neliel added, "And food."

...

On the second day of Karin's training with Shinketsuen, Karin was able to hold her own reasonably well against her zanpakutou; each sword held out for successively longer time periods before breaking. However, while Karin had already had to break over forty eggs, Shinketsuen had yet to break his seventh.

"She's getting pretty good, isn't she?" Neliel asked Grimmjow.

The latter gave no answer and continued to stare at the battling girl. After a moment, he stated, "She's trying to attain bankai."

Neliel gave a start and said, "She seems to think she's just doing regular training with her zanpakutou, though."

Grimmjow looked at Neliel through his cyan eyes. "You should use the garganta and get word to Ichigo. He and the other shinigami might help you fill up the fatal holes in your stupid plan."

Ignoring the jab at her plan, Neliel replied, "I should. Ichigo's probably worried sick about her."

Laughing humorlessly, Grimmjow said, "That bastard's taking a really long time to show up though, isn't he? The time that human woman - Inoue Orihime - was kidnapped, he showed up on the very same day. And that was just his_ friend_. This is his younger _sister_ that we're looking at."

Neliel's face hardened and said, "I'm going right now."

The sixth Espada warned to Neliel's retreating back, "Don't get followed. If you do, then your plan's over for sure."

Glancing disdainfully over her shoulder, Neliel retorted, "That's an unnecessary worry. I'm the Third Espada."

...

_**Real World: Karakura Town**_

Ichigo, sitting around the table restlessly with his shinigami comrades, stated tensely, "Just two days left until Urahara-san can open the gates."

"And what are we gonna do until then?" Asked Renji irritably.

Though all the shinigami were in black moods, the worst of them all were Ichigo and Toushirou. The black clouds hanging over them were almost visible.

Tapping his knuckles against the wooden table, Toushirou ground his teeth.

"It'll be faster just to go back to Soul Society and to open a door to Hueco Mundo from there."

Rangiku, propping her chin on her hands, pointed out gloomily, "But the Gotei 13 Divisions are refusing to have anything to do with this."

It was through yet another tense silence that the shinigami suddenly felt a new spiritual pressure come into Karakura town. Well, not exactly new; at least, to Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia, anyways. Suddenly standing up, Ichigo voiced, "It's Nell."

...

"Ichiii-go!"

Neliel practically jumped on top of the poor orange-haired shinigami, and said, "It's been a while." Her face, suddenly becoming serious said, "Karin is in Las Noches."

Toushirou's face drained of all color, and he asked quietly, "Not… captured?"

To his intense relief, Neliel shook her head.

"Not captured."

Ichigo cut in, "So she's safe?" It seemed like the most important question he'd asked in his life.

Smiling wryly, Neliel said, "As safe as any non-arrancar can be in Las Noches. It's a good thing Grimmjow was the one to find her first, and I hear that he nearly killed her as it was." Then Neliel frowned at Ichigo. "Why haven't you come to get her yet? You have connections; it shouldn't be too hard for you to get into Hueco Mundo."

Hanging his head, Ichigo said, "The gate'll open if two days. But until then, we can't go."

Neliel's frown disappeared, replaced immediately with a wide smile.

"Two days? That's perfect! Then come as soon as the sun sets, okay?"

With that abrupt parting phrase, the sky opened up once again, and Neliel left.

It was only after she had gone that it occurred to Ichigo to say, "She makes it sound as if she's inviting us to a dinner party…"

...

_**Hueco Mundo: Las Noches**_

It was the third day of training, and Karin had managed to gain enough control over her flames to be able to compress them and using them to attack in different ways. She was now able to fight on par with Shinketsuen. Both of them had broken equal numbers of egg shells to replenish their weapons. Karin had now taken to breaking open two eggshells at once and wielding a sword in each hand. The swords had, at first, been too heavy, but by the end of the first hour, her arms had already become used to the weights, and Karin was wielding them effectively. Of course, Shinketsuen, too, was now wielding two blades.

When the sword in her right hand broke, Karin immediately sliced the egg open with the sword in her left hand. But it was not a sword that lay inside. It was a large, golden-red bird.

As Karin stopped fighting to stare at the beautiful creature, Shinketsuen smiled.

"Ah, so you've finally found the key to my bankai."

The phoenix unfurled its wings and lurched into the sky, circling once and landing in the area between Karin's shoulder blades. Karin felt the warm talons digging gently into her flesh.

Then, Karin felt a peculiar sensation; the bird was_ welding_ into her body. She was merging with the phoenix. Heat coursed through her veins, and Karin felt exhilarated.

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the girl. The phoenix had first landed on her back, then _merged_ with her, and Karin now had two fiery wings, as well as talons on her hands and feet.

As Shinketsuen faded away, he said, _"It's called **Houou** (Phoenix) **Shinketsuen**."_

_...  
_

**A/N:** Okay, I apologize again for the late chapter, and I encourage you to take a look at my painstakingly, and inaccurately, drawn version of Karin's bankai. I totally forgot about her talons. I may get around to fixing it sometime… But that is unlikely.

Link is here: http:/crystallinex. deviantart .com/art/Flames-of-Revenge-Fallen-Souls-69015812 (get rid of the spaces around 'deviantart')

And YES. I did base Karin's bankai off of Toushirou's bankai. Why? Because I thought they'd be fun to draw back to back. But now that I've suffered drawing Karin once… such a fanart is unlikely to ever happen.

And PLEASE. Don't flame at me for making Karin's training process so similar to Ichigo's. I did the best I could.


	18. Branded

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** I'm still shamelessly advertising my artwork of Karin's bankai, minus her clawed limbs! HERE: http:/crystallinex. deviantart .com/art/Flames-of-Revenge-Fallen-Souls-69015812

**(copy and paste, and get rid of the spaces around 'deviantart'... this site won't let me post links...)**

to: ready...aim...fire: Karin lost consciousness after the first day of training, so when she woke up and went to _back _to training, it was already the 2nd day. So there was no time warp. I'm just bad at portraying the passing of time.

...

**Chapter 18** - Branded

...

Karin, her face inked with red markings much like Nel's except the line on each cheek wasn't connected over her nose - courtesy of one of Neliel's Fraccion, who had assured her the ink wasn't permanent - paced in Grimmjow's large white room. His cyan eyes following her movements, Grimmjow drawled, "Fidgeting isn't going to make you any stronger."

It was the day of reckoning. At least, it was from Karin's point of view.

She wasn't nervous.

Or at least, she didn't think she was.

Rather, Karin was a mass of pent up energy; most of the energy itching to be released.

The chance to let out the energy came soon enough.

...

Aizen sat crookedly on his white throne, smiling thinly at the thirty-some arrancar that stood in rows before him. The room was filled to the brim with ill-disguised blood-thirstiness.

Karin stood at the left end of the third row, beside a rotund arrancar. The killing-energy in the room did nothing to faze her.

The nine Espada stood behind Aizen, ordered by rank, starring impassively at the mass of arrancar before them. Karin's eyes lingered on the Espada that stood fourth from the left. glaring at the pale-faced arrancar with green, tear-track-like markings, burning his image into her eyes.

But her eyes snapped back to Aizen when he spoke.

"Arrancar, I have asked you to gather here to today for the selection of our new Noveno (ninth) Espada. May the selection begin."

As soon as the ex-shinigami had finished articulating the word, 'begin' all the arrancar became a flurry of movement.

Well, all except for Karin, who wasn't even really an arrancar. Wearing a rather deadpan look, Karin sneaked a look at Neliel. The green-haired arrancar wore a look of utter disdain upon her face as she surveyed the melee of clashing swords and battle cries. Karin could practically hear the female arrancar think along the lines of "primitive beasts, fighting just for the sake of fighting."

A large majority of them had also already released their zanpakutou, transforming into strangely mutated creatures, no longer humanoid, but more reminiscent of the hollows they originally had been.

Karin, too, was rather surprised at that lack of sophistication in Aizen's method of choosing the new Espada.

She stood still. Why waste time and energy to go looking for an enemy when the enemy would come to you?

She didn't have to wait long.

It was only a few moments before several arrancar leapt to attack her, from three different sides.

Karin didn't even release her zanpakutou. She didn't even unsheathe it. Instead, she used the technique that Neliel had painstakingly taught her; the hollow bullet. Three well-aimed hollow bullets effectively incinerated the several arrancar that had approached her. Seeing the new development in the arrancar melee, a new wave of challengers approached Karin.

The word 'approach' was such a mild term.

By the time ten arrancar were attacking at once, Karin had tired of using hollow bullets, and instead, placed her hand on the red-threaded hilt of her sword. Simply by unsheathing her sword in one swift movement, Karin sliced through several white-clothed figures.

To Karin, the arrancar seemed to be moving in slow motion. They were unbelievably slow compared to Grimmjow, Neliel, or Shinketsuen.

It didn't take long before there were only eight figures standing.

It wasn't so much as a melee as it was a tournament after such a reduction in numbers.

...

Karin still refrained from releasing her sword; Neliel's already-unstable plan would be further destabilized if she were to be discovered; and she'd almost certainly be killed.

The metal of her sword grated against the metal of her opponent's sword. The opposing female arrancar, too, was refraining from releasing her zanpakutou. Karin intended to keep it that way; she'd have to finish her opponent off before the arrancar had the chance to release her zanpakutou.

Karin fired a few more hollow-bullets to buy time before she saw an opening and immediately swung her zanpakutou; the arrancar fell to the ground, her flesh torn from collarbone to hip. Karin kept her eyes carefully steered away from the sight; she was quite sure vomiting at the sight of blood that wasn't her own would display a weakness that she couldn't afford to show.

Three enemies remained. But they didn't pair off as Karin had expected them too; they simply rushed towards her as one; and Karin narrowed her eyes. Sweeping her sword in an arc, Karin forced the arrancar to move back.

"Cowards." Karin almost failed to recognize her own voice. When had her voice become so rough?

Using a technique that her arrancar comrades had called 'Sonido' Karin flash stepped out of the circle in which the other arrancar had surrounded her; appearing behind one arrancar and taking him out. The two remaining arrancar used sonido as well. But it wasn't quite two-against-one. The two male arrancar also seemed to be aware that they were enemies as well. Finally, holding her sword one-handed once more, Karin fired up a cero while the two arrancar were fighting each other - her body remembered how to utilize the technique, even if her mind didn't.

The two arrancar realized too late what she was about to do, and they were to slow to avoid being disintegrated by the cero blast.

Amidst the cracked marble tiles and bodies here and there, Karin stood alone, dressed in white, now flecked with blood. She sheathed her sword and stepped forward.

Aizen regarded her coolly with brown eyes, while seven of the Espadas regarded her stonily - Grimmjow and Neliel both hints of smirks on their faces - finally, the man asked, "What is your name, arrancar?"

"Karina Incendia… sir." Karin added the 'sir' as an afterthought, though nobody seemed to realize it.

His eyes flashed. "And your number?"

"I am simply Grimmjow…-sama's… Fraccion, sir." Wincing inwardly, Karin realized that the hitch in the addition of Grimmjow's title would have been all to audible. But the Espada took no notice of the brief pause, save for Grimmjow himself, who raised an eyebrow at her from behind Aizen's back.

Aristocratic fingers beckoned towards the burly Espada standing at the far right.

"Yami."

The burly Espada, Yami, stepped out and knelt. "Aizen-sama."

"Prove this arrancar's worth."

Grinning and showing large white teeth that contrasted with his dark skin, the Decimo Espada stood, and flash stepped to right in front of Karin.

The smaller figure looked coolly up into Yami's eyes.

"So you think you can be an Espada, brat?" The large arrancar sneered. "Well, you've got something comin-" He stopped. A cut had appeared across his cheek. He grinned nastily at Karin, who had simultaneously unsheathed her sword and cut him at the same time; he hadn't even seen her move.

"Hah, is that all you've got?" The bravado was forced, Karin could tell.

"Of course not." Karin emphasized her sharply spoken answer with a flash step and swing of the sword. When Yami avoided the blow, Karin already had a cero prepared within the palm of her left hand.

"Shit…" Yami hurriedly fired a hollow bullet to negate part of the blow, but the rest of the cero's blast was absorbed by his own body and by the surrounding marble.

When the dust of powdered marble cleared, Karin stood before a battered-looking Yami, her zanpakutou at his throat.

With a twisted smile, Aizen declared, "Well, it seems that we have our new Noveno Espada."

...

Urahara Kisuke stood before a gaping black hole in the three dimensional world; behind him, stood Ichigo, Toushirou, Renji, Rukia, and Rangiku. Though Orihime had wanted to come, the rest of the shinigami had vehemently protested, lest she be captured again.

"I assume you are ready?"

Without even answering, the shinigami all dove into the Garganta, the passageway to Hueco Mundo.

Spiky silver hair ruffling in the self-created wind as he ran alongside the other shinigami, Toushirou thought,_ 'I'm__ coming__ Karin…'_

_...  
_

So the nine had been tattooed onto her upper left hip-bone area. Karin hadn't ever imagined getting a tattoo, and she wasn't too fond of the glaring black ink on her skin. Grimmjow rolled his eyes at her face and said, "Lighten up. You'd think you'd been branded or something."

Dully Karin replied, "Haven't I?"

Running her fingers through her long green hair, Neliel said, "Don't be so negative. I was impressed that you were able to beat Yami so quickly." When Karin completely failed to look any more cheerful, Neliel continued, "Besides, your friends are coming soon."

Karin looked up, startled.

"Friends? As in…"

"Your brother and his shinigami friends."

Her happiness was short-lived. Eyes downcast, Karin whispered, "What'll they say when they see me? Will they try to kill me as well?"

Grimmjow snorted. "Like Ichigo would let that happen." Karin bit her lip; the only even vaguely comforting thought was that Toushirou would never see her like this. But then it occurred to her, "Wait, that means that they're going to participate in your plan?"

Neliel grinned toothily.

"Yeah - and today's the perfect day, since over thirty of the ninty-nine numerous have been taken care of, thanks to that barbaric Espada selection."

So Neliel's plan had been a lot better than Karin had given it credit to be; but there was still the question of…

"So how are we going to attack the rest of the Espada anyways? Besides the box of negacion thing? I mean, we'll be fighting outnumbered."

When Neliel had opened her mouth to explain - most likely without the use of battle plan or logic - Grimmjow hastily said instead, "Here's the plan."

He traced an rough outline of an imaginary map on Neliel's bed-spread with his index finger. Squinting at the slight creases in the bed-spread that was the supposed 'map,' he said, "Your brother will probably arrive out in the middle of the desert; it'll take him time to get here."

He drew a small rectangle that represented Las Noches.

"So while they're on their way, our twenty-three Numeros followers will lead a two pronged attack on the rest of the Numeros; if they use the element of surprise, then they should have no trouble overrunning the northern area of Las Noches."

Karin nodded with understanding, noting that Grimmjow was actually intelligent, even if he himself preferred to think that all he needed was his fighting strength.

Irritated that Grimmjow was explaining her (in the eyes of others, painfully simple) plan and ratifying it as he saw fit, Neliel interrupted, "And then we'll be attacking the Espada in the meantime. It's simple!"

Slapping a hand over Neliel's mouth, Grimmjow frowned and elaborated, "It's only because of you and Ichigo that this plan has even a slight chance of succeeding. When the shinigami come, the rest of the Espada will most likely go to fight them; we can intercept them one by one as they do, using the box of Negacion or even better," he grinned, "killing them." Despite his unprecedented display of intellect, Karin could see that Grimmjow's dominant hobby was still fighting, as opposed to constructing workable battle plans.

Poking a finger at the center of the rectangle, Grimmjow continued, "But this is where Aizen-sama will be, with Ichimaru and Tousen. And this is the area that, after taking care of the other Espada, we'll have to join up with the shinigami to attack."

But then, Grimmjow sighed and smoothed out the bedspread-map saying, "This is where the plan gets hairy. Scratch that, there _isn't_ any plan once we have to face those three. Aizen-sama's zanpakutou, Kyouka Suigetsu, deals with illusions. The only way to fight it is to fight it blindfolded, and even then, the only thing you can rely on is spiritual energy."

There was a somber silence at that revelation.

"Then that's what we'll have to do, isn't it?" Karin finally voiced.

...

So while Grimmjow grudgingly kept watch outside, Karin and Neliel sparred within a spiritually sealed chamber. No one inside could sense the spiritual energy of those outside, except for the most spiritually keen; it worked the other way as well.

Consequently, the room seemed slightly muffled, with the lack of buzzing spiritual energy that Karin had become accustomed to after coming to Las Noches.

Another reason why the room may have seemed muffled was because the two Espada were sparring against each other blindfolded.

Her blindfold soaked with sweat, Karin gasped, "How, the hell… are we supposed to fight blindfolded?"

Given, Karin had improved drastically; Neliel had been good from the beginning, managing to hit Karin many times. After an hour of fighting blindfolded, Karin had come to rely more on her spiritual energy to sense where her opponent was. It was difficult, however, to try and use only spiritual energy to detect the movements of a fast-moving Espada, much less react to them in time.

Finally, after suffering three blows to her diaphragm, doubling over in pain, Karin ripped off the blindfold and shouted, "I give up!"

As if on cue, Grimmjow threw the doors of the chamber open.

"They're here!"

The shinigami had come; it was time for the battle to begin.

...

**A/N:** Okay, this chapter was more or less just a transitioning into the major battle, which is why it's relatively short compared to my recent chapters. It's starting from the next chapter that you guys have to keep your eyes wide open!

And YAY! I'm back on schedule!


	19. Icy Victories

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** This chapter is late because I was working on a Toushirou fanart… Art is strangely addictive, for some reason. Here: http:/crystallinex. deviantart .com/gallery/3221235#/d15a8hz  
(just get rid of the spaces around 'deviant')

Yeah, this is just the lineart version, because I'm struggling with the background right now...

...

**Chapter 19 **- Icy Victories

...

The three Espada rushed out of the chamber; to Karin the sudden tumult of spiritual pressures was invigorating. They rushed down the long corridor before Grimmjow dove down the fork in the passageway. But when Neliel was about to diverge paths with her as well, Karin grabbed her sleeve to stop her.

"I don't know my way around Las Noches…" It occurred to her too late that the intellect of the group - Grimmjow - had already left.

Neliel's bright answer was, "Just follow the spiritual pressures! Las Noches isn't really that hard to navigate!" before she left Karin standing quite alone.

_'I hope that's true.'_ Karin thought.

...

After running into three consecutive dead ends, though, Karin didn't quite agree with Neliel's comment on how Las Noches "wasn't so hard to navigate."

Even annoyed as she was with her directional handicap and preoccupied with trying to find her way, Karin was quick to sense an approaching spiritual pressure. That particular spiritual pressure managed quite effectively to invoke a hate in her that she had only recently become aware that she was capable of feeling.

When the white-faced arrancar stepped out to block Karin's path, she said, "Hey, that's convenient."

She clenched her fists behind her back.

"I was just about to go look for you anyways."

Ulquiorra's stance was closed and confident; there were no openings. But Karin hadn't trained through living death for nothing. If there weren't any openings, she'd make them.

Bright green eyes stared holes into Karin.

"It is your duty to be preparing yourself for the shinigami intruders. Yet what are you doing out here?" Ulquiorra's voice held no question in it, even when it was phrased as one.

It was then that Karin realized that the Cuatro Espada had never been fooled. When her eyes widened with realization, Ulquiorra asked, "Did you think I would not recognize you?"

When Karin gave no answer, he went on, "Admittedly, your appearance and spiritual energy had changed, but your pseudo name and zanpakutou left no question in my mind as to who you were."

Placing a hand on the hilt of her zanpakutou and feeling the comforting silk threads under her fingers, Karin asked, "If you already knew who I was, then why did you let me get so far?"

Moving with fluid speed that Karin's eyes could barely follow, Ulquiorra replied, "Because your current skill poses no threat."

Firing a hollow bullet that the pale arrancar easily absorbed with his right hand, Karin shot back, "We'll see about that."

But doubts ran through her mind. He had beaten Toushirou so easily…  
Yet it was that very same thought that gave Karin a renewed determination. Drawing her sword, Karin said, "You see, the main reason I'm here in Las Noches is to kill you."

The arrancar narrowed his green eyes and spoke, "Don't make me laugh. You hold no more experimental value; you cannot even preserve your own life."

He disappeared, and Karin turned her head, trying to keep track of the Espada's movements. He wasn't any slower than Neliel, despite her being a rank above him.

Following Ulquiorra's movements with his eyes had become simple just with a few seconds of adjustment; to physically keep up with him was another matter entirely. His snoido was even speedier than Grimmjow's, but Karin grimly kept up.

Releasing her spiritual pressure and zanpakutou at the same time, Karin laughed, "What, are you going to keep running!"

His voice answered from behind her, "That is not my not my intent."

Skidding to a stop, Karin instinctively turned and parried his fingers as they were an inch away from piercing her skin. Jumping back, she asked, "Then haven't you drawn your sword?"

Ulquiorra's reply was, unsurprisingly, swift and curt.

"I need no sword to kill you."

Flexing her free hand, Karin summoned forth the golden blaze of a cero, which crackled familiarly in her palm.

When Ulquiorra countered the cero with one of his own, Karin was thrown back by the blast.

"Ugh!"

But Karin wasn't going to give up; not when she was fighting for Toushirou.

Flames spiraled from Karin's blade, weaving themselves into some shape that looked vaguely like a bird. The blazes hurtled towards Ulquiorra, enveloping the arrancar with flames. But when the fires had subsided somewhat, however, Ulquiorra stood unharmed.

"Did you think such a weak attack would work against me?" His voice was disdainful, but his sword was unsheathed. Upon seeing this, Karin grinned and stated, "But you've drawn your sword, haven't you?"

Narrowing his eyes, the arrancar finally faced Karin head on. Their swords clashed satisfyingly, and Karin was relieved to see that his arm strength was weaker than that of Grimmjow's. But was wasn't fighting for fun or for the sake of training; her goal was to kill the arrancar that stood before her. So Karin, drawing back to increase the distance between her opponent and herself, enunciated clearly, "Bankai."

Wings of flame burst from her back, incinerating a good chunk of the back of her shirt. The sleeves were reduced to ash as flames rapidly made their way from her shoulder blades to her shoulders, down over her arms, solidifying somewhat into molten claws. She now wore a red, sleeveless haori, reminiscent of Shinketsuen's clothes.

"Houou Shinketsuen."

Ulquiorra stared impassively at the display of flame before him. His zanpakutou still remained as a sword of metal in his hands.

"Oh? So you've attained bankai as well?"

Karin's answer was to extend her wings and take flight. Raising Shinketsuen and slicing downwards, Karin said, "It's over. You should have released your sword while you still could." While making that very statement, it occured to her that the Cuatro Espada still could release his zanpakutou, but she decided not to give him the chance. As Karin lunged forward and slashing diagonally with her sword, molten lava and fire shot out simultaneously to envelope Ulquiorra. The lava hardened, before bursting into flame and falling to the ground with a dull thudding noise, crumbling into ash.

But Karin felt no sense of satisfaction at her apparent revenge. Only a sense of futility, which was lost quickly in the pain as she discovered a large gash in her left side. Karin's bankai receded, leaving her in a tattered white hakama.

Her senses dulled, Karin stumbled out of the hall and into a smaller corridor. She wasn't able to feel anything besides her pain, and it was no surprise that she couldn't feel the fast-approaching individual until her rammed into her.

Tumbling back, Karin landed painfully on her tailbone, her side lanced with pain. Blood splattered to the floor.

It took a considerable effort for Karin to actually place her hand on her zanpakutou to even pretend at any sort of attempt to counterattack her alleged assailant. But when she raised her eyes, instead of seeing an arrancar, she found herself staring into achingly familiar blue eyes. Eyes that she'd never thought she'd be able to see again.

...

He could feel Karin's spiritual energy. Despite its size, Las Noches was easy to navigate, and Toushirou could tell that she was nearby. Her spiritual energy seemed vaguely different, and alien; certainly more powerful, but he knew that the power was hers. When he felt a dramatic decrease in her spiritual pressure, his eyes narrowed and he increased his fast pace.

"Almost there… Karin…"

It was then that he ran into another figure. She wore a white arrancar hakama that had obviously suffered through much, and was bleeding profusely from a sword wound. As her black hair fell away from her face, Toushirou's eyes widened.

Despite her changed appearance, her changed spiritual pressure, the mask, the tattoo of the number '9' that was visible beneath her torn clothes, it was Karin that was before him. She was alive.

Nothing else mattered.

Crouching beside her, suddenly, Toushirou suddenly yanked Karin into a hug.

"Karin…"

...

It was Toushirou.

Karin couldn't believe her eyes, and she couldn't believe in the spiritual energy of the boy before her.

"Tou… shirou…?"

Ignoring the pain in her side, Karin grabbed a hold of the boy's shoulders and held him back to look at him.

"Is it really you?"

Blinking at her, confused, Toushirou asked, "What are you talking about? Of course it's me."

"You… you're not dead?"

Suddenly, Karin became angry. Completely forgetting about the stabbing pain in her side, Karin shouted, pounding her fists against his chest, "You're not dead! I thought I'd never see you again! Did you have any idea how upset I was!"

Toushirou, too, had to defend himself to a certain extent, caught her wrists and yelled back, "What, you think I'd die from one measly arrancar! And do you have any idea how worried I was about you? Going into Hueco Mundo all by yourself! And -"

His eyes trailed from the remnants of her hollow mask to tattoo visible on her hip. He decided, for the second time, that he didn't care. Suddenly, he hugged Karin again, despite her squeak of protest.

"I'm so glad you're safe…"

Their joy was only momentary, cut short by a voice with a hint of mockery in it.

"How touching."

Karin's blood ran cold, and Toushirou thrust Karin's injured form behind his only slightly larger figure. A tall, blonde Espada stood before them, his bare chest tattooed with the the number '2.'

...

Adversities met the shinigami everywhere.

Even while firing his Getsuga Tenshou from several different directions with the use of shunpo, the orange-haired shinigami seemed troubled.

_'Where is Karin?'_

But the Primero (First) Espada, tossing his long black locks vainly, said, "Hmph. You cannot hope to defeat me with your mind so uncertain." and with one quick movement, pierced Ichigo's shoulder with his long, spear-like zanpakutou.

"It will do you well to concentrate on your opponent instead." The Espada advised menacingly.

Quickly re-focusing on the battle at hand, Ichigo leapt back to avoid being pinned to the wall by his shoulder, and fired another Getsuga Tenshou. When he saw the Primero Espada avoid the blow quickly, Ichigo sighed and put a hand near his face, yanking down on what seemed like nothing.

"I guess I'll have to use this, then…"

A vaizard mask materialized, locked into place with Ichigo's spiritual pressure. His eyes had become an eerie black and yellow, and the next Getsuga Tenshou gouged a deep wound into the Espada's torso. Rapidly reappearing behind the arrancar, Ichigo used another Getsuga Tenshou from point blank distance, right to the Espada's neck.

The Espada didn't stand a chance.

...

Rangiku fought on, fueled by her will to question Gin, her childhood friend and her love. It was a simple question, and it was just one word.

'Why?'

If only the thirty-some Numeros arrancar that she faced could answer that question..

...

Rukia, fighting off the already battered looking Yami with her pure-white zanpakutou, 'Sode no Shirayuki,' felt the respective spiritual pressures of her comrades and sighed privately with relief. They were holding their own, and still alive. Hardening her eyes, she sliced upwards to create a column of ice that the tenth Espada narrowly avoided.

"Yon no mai (fourth dance), Shirokane (white scythe)."

Wait until Ichigo found out about her new technique.

...

"Damnit…"

The blood flow from the wound in Karin's side had slowed down somewhat, but Karin's breath was still ragged and loud. Yet even over her shuddering breaths, she could hear the Espada's bariton voice declare himself to be, "Adolpho Apunalar."

Looking at Karin through heavy lidded eyes, Adolpho stated, "So you are the one who betrayed us, Novena (female for Ninth)."

Karin, shoving Toushirou aside to face the arrancar herself, replied, "I was never on your side to begin with."

But the pain overwhelmed her and she doubled over, clutching her side. Flaring his spiritual pressure, Toushirou released his zanpakutou into bankari form. Something as weak as shikai would never work. To his dismay, however, Karin, after coughing up a fair amount of blood, returned to bankai mode. The silver-haired boy didn't even care that she had attained bankai; she was injured and she was still going to fight? When he was there to take on the arrancar?

Injuries weren't the only problem. Karin, having released Shinketsuen into bankai state, was weakening and being weakened by Toushirou's own bankai. When she had flown up to hover beside him in the air, Toushirou hurriedly shouted, "You attack from the other side!"

Fire and ice didn't mix. Fire melted ice. Melted ice was water, and water extinguished fire. For Adolpho, the fight was more entertainment than anything else.

"Your teamwork is worthless!" Roared the second Espada.

Finally, Toushirou, after losing half of his wing to Karin's blaze of fire, lost his temper with Karin and flash stepped over to her and hit a pressure point on her neck sharply.

The fires immediately vanished and Karin slumped into his arms, unconscious. Gently lowering her onto the ground as Adolpho continued to watch from a distance, Toushirou brushed a few strands of Karin's hair back from her face and said, "Sorry, Karin. I'm going to take this guy alone.."

Standing back up, Toushirou addressed Adolpho, "Sorry for making you wait, arrancar."

Narrowing his green eyes, Adolpho resumed his attack, wielding his blade with refined speed and aim. Toushirou loathed the self-confident stance of the second Espada; his hazel eyes filled with contempt. He resented those two eyes that looked upon the silver-haired captain as considered him a mere sport.

After avoiding several close blows and suffering a wound to his right leg, Toushirou leapt back to a far distance and closed his eyes.

The arrancar refused to release his zanpakutou; he still underestimated the young captain. Opening his blue eyes, Toushirou knew that if underestimation was the enemy's weakness, then he would have to utilize it.

It was time to put his new technique into use.

"Souji ni sase, (Reign over the frosted earth) Hyourinmaru." (a variation of Souten ni sase - reign over the frosted heavens, Toushirou's shikai.)

Abruptly, Toushirou stabbed the icy blade of Hyourinmaru into the ground, his wings curving forward to shield his sword and himself from view as he started his new attack. Webs of ice started to spread from Hyourinmaru's blade, and suddenly burst into thick layers of ice that surged forward to trap Adolpho's legs. Eyes widening, the second Espada released his zanpakutou, his mask pointing back into two ears that resembled that of a wolf's, his two legs bending slightly into what looks like hindquarters. But it was too late.

Focusing his spiritual pressure onto the budding shards of ice, Toushirou willed his natural element to sharpen and envelope the arrancar.

The whole process took less than a second, and when Toushirou dislodged his sword from the floor, the blocks of ice that had once been Adolpho shattered into little crystalline shards.

No arrancar, Espada or not, would underestimate him and live.

...

The shinigami and three Espada, their injuries varying from heavily bleeding stab wounds to virtually no wounds at all, finally found each others' spiritual pressures to near the center of Las Noches.

At the sight of Karin unconscious and bleeding heavily, Ichigo lost all calm demeanor and immediately ran over to her.

"Karin!"

Toushirou had covered her ripped clothing with his own white captain's cloak. Taking one look at her half-arrancar form, Ichigo turned to Grimmjow, enraged.

"What the hell did you do to my sister!"

Raising up both of his uninjured hands in defense, Grimmjow said, "Hey, she was like that when I found her in the middle of Hueco Mundo."

Gritting his teeth, Toushirou shouted, "Are any of you any good at healing!"

Rukia, bleeding from a cut to her cheek but looking otherwise unharmed, hurried forward.

"I'm nowhere near as good as Inoue, but I can stem the blood flow."

As Rukia performed some kidou spells, Rangiku whispered, "Three left."

The Espada - save for the third, sixth, and ninth - were all annihilated. That left the three ex-shinigami to take care of.

Toushirou regarded his vice-captain with blue eyes dark with worry. He knew of Rangiku's attachment to Ichimaru Gin, and it worried him that she stood there like stone, staring down into the corridor that would inevitably lead to where the three shinigami resided.

...

"So the three Espada have betrayed me?"

Aizen, amidst all the confusion and battle cries outside, seemed unconcerned; a smile played across his face. Tousen Kaname sightless eyes narrowed.

"We have suffered heavy losses, Aizen-sama."

Ichimaru Gin had leaned against the wall, looking on with his slitted eyes.

"A few losses in the arrancar do not worry me." The brown-haired ex-shinigami toyed with his wine glass, letting the crystal catch the dim light. He suddenly crushed the wineglass and stood.

"Open the Garganta, Kaname. We will harvest today."

...

A/N: Okay! I hated writing about Ulquiorra. Why? Because I don't know what the heck his zanpakutou release is! NO inkling! Agggghhh. I so just had Karin kill him off. Haha. I originally intended to have him come back and attack, but I had the segundo Espada do it instead. Toushirou needs some screen time.

And why did I not talk about Renji's fight? Because he's not getting paired up in this story. I know. Sad, isn't it?

And I'm sorry I'm not updating as often anymore. Time was, I didn't have to work on a 14 page research paper. Sigh.

And yes. Karin is still the main character of this story.


	20. Breaking the Balance

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** Updated! And Hitsugaya has been colored! Yeah, let's just say that Hitsugaya's bankai is a pain in the ass, and that I'll probably never draw him using bankai ever again.

http:/crystallinex. deviantart .com/art/Shards-of-Ice-Hitsugaya-69342053 (again, just get rid of the spaces before and after 'deviantart.' to get there!)

...

**Chapter 20** - Breaking the Balance

...

Karin's eyes flickered open to see a worried Orihime staring down at her with a crease between her eyebrows. Shaking her head a bit, Karin turned to look at her.

"Ungh… What are you doing here?"

Looking around to see a clean but unfamiliarly designed room, Karin decided to change her question.

"Err. Actually, where am I?"

The last thing she remembered was fighting the Segundo Espada until Toushirou - that little bastard - had knocked her out. Gathering her wits and raising her head a bit off of the pillow, Karin examined her surroundings. Shinketsuen was beside her. She was dressed in a shinigami hakama once again. Hesitating, Orihime replied, "You're in Soul Society."

At this, Karin bolted upright on the bed.

"What? I'm dead!"

Then it occurred to her that she didn't have to be dead to be in Soul Society. And if her soul had died, she wouldn't have gone to Soul Society anyway. She would have just disappeared. That made it clear that she wasn't dead, but she was relieved when Orihime shook her head anyway. But the relief was fleeting, and Karin narrowed her eyes.

"What's going on?"

The older girl shook her head and said, "I'm sorry. I can't tell you that."

That was it. Karin leapt out of the bed and began to charge out of the room. But before she could even reach the door, Orihime quickly called upon some power she kept at the pins on the side of her head, creating a golden pyramid-shaped barrier that kept Karin from going anywhere.

"What -"

Looking at her seriously, Orihime said, "If you want to know what's happening, I'll tell you, but I'm going to have to keep you in that barrier if I do."

Bewildered and confused, Karin saw no choice but to agree.

...

**Earlier:**

"I've put a kidou spell on her that'll keep her asleep." Rukia informed Ichigo.

It was then that Rangiku suddenly said quietly, "He's gone."

Everyone glanced at the well-formed lieutenant. She repeated, "They're gone." in a less subdued voice. Her statement echoed through the wide halls of Las Noches. Rangiku had been focusing on Gin's spiritual energy; that much was obvious. Its sudden disappearance had alerted her before any of the other shinigami.

Toushirou's eyes widened. Mere moments of recuperation had cost them dearly, he realized.

"They've left Hueco Mundo." He clarified to the others, who looked mostly confused.

"What do you mean, they've left!" Grimmjow demanded.

Turning his turquoise blue eyes to survey the rest of the shinigami and Espada, Toushirou said, "They've gone to the real world."

That could only mean one thing. Everybody was thinking it, but Rukia was the one to whisper the name of Ichigo's hometown.

"Kara…kura…"

Grinding his teeth, Ichigo swore, "Shit!"

Grasping the situation, Neliel immediately opened the Garganta and all the shinigami and Espada, Toushirou carrying Karin's sleep-induced form, shot through the opening in the dimension.

...

The mixed entourage was greeted by a somber looking Urahara in the real world. Before they could step out of the Garganta to ask about the situation, Urahara held out a hand and said, "If you leave that Garganta, you will be sealing the fate of the whole spiritual and physical world."

That certainly stopped them in their tracks. Confused, Ichigo asked, "What are you -"

Eyes staring out from beneath the green and white striped hat, Urahara interrupted, "The moment all of you step out into the real world, Aizen Sousuke will have enough spiritual energy from the designated area to reap the souls and create the King's Key."

That would effectively negate three years of hard work that the shinigami had carried out to maintain at the very least, a stalemate. Toushirou stated, "So it's a trap."

Urahara nodded.

"Some of you will have to proceed to Soul Society, while some of you will remain here."

His eyes flickered to the unconscious Karin in Toushirou's arms, the expression on his unshaven face unreadable. After a moment, Urahara said,

"Only…" his eyes flickered over the spiritually strong group, "…six of you can stay."

Without even waiting to think, Ichigo stepped out of the Garganta, releasing Zangetsu from its confining white cloth. "Rukia, take Karin and go to Soul Society."

Rukia, too, attempted to step out, but Renji opened the gates to Soul Society and shoved his childhood friend and a still-out-cold Karin through it. When he tried to assist Rangiku through as well, the busty shinigami threw off his arm and said, "I'm staying. There can be six of us."

Before Rukia could make any sort of protest, the gates to Soul Society slid closed.

...

"- So I was sent here as well, to make sure there wasn't enough spiritual pressure for Karakura to be harvested." Orihime finished.

Though she was almost afraid to ask, Karin questioned anyway, "And how long have I been unconscious?"

"…three hours." was Orihime's rather reluctant sounding answer.

Karin, still imprisoned within the golden barrier, pounded her fists against the shield.

"They've been fighting against Aizen for three hours!"

She felt helpless, weak, trapped; what was she doing in Soul Society, instead of fighting with the others?

"Give up." The angry, yet calm voice belonged to Rukia.

Astonished, Karin turned to look at Rukia, who stood in the doorway. The petite shinigami, too, had her brows furrowed, and she looked angry beyond measure. But her voice was even when she said, "The moment we leave for the real world, the world will fall prey to Aizen. The only way you can help is by staying here."

'_But Toushirou is fighting. Ichi-nii is fighting. My family is in danger…' _Karin's thoughts were in turmoil.

She couldn't accept things the way they were.

"I can't accept that."

Rukia glanced at Karin, and to her horror, the mask on the side of the girl's head was sliding back into place and regenerating from the spirit particles that all matter in Soul Society was made up of.

As the walls of the room crumbled into spirit particles that rapidly regenerated her mask, Karin's spiritual pressure gave a strong flare, and she stood, shattering Orihime's barrier into golden shards of light. Rukia cursed.

"We should have used the spiritual-pressure sealing cuffs!"

But it was too late for any such restraint. Karin, her eyes red and black, her hollow mask locked into place, but her mind stronger than ever, reasoned to the others, "If Orihime's spiritual pressure isn't in Karakura, then I can go."

With that short justification, Karin leapt through the failing wall and out of the building, to see the yellow and red roofs of the shinigami city below her. But as soon as she was out of the room, several shinigami, including Rukia, began to pursue her.

"She mustn't get to the gate!" Was Rukia's command, sounding distant to Karin's ears.

'_To hell with the gate,' _Karin throught. She didn't even know where it was or how to use it.

Instead, to buy time, Karin unsheathed her zanpakutou and swiftly released it, disarming the encroaching shinigami with her flames easily.

When a man with a considerable amount of spiritual power approached, Karin turned and slashed her sword. The man said in a rough voice, "Reconsider, Kurosaki. The entire spiritual world will fall with your re-entering the real world at this time."

Karin didn't ask how the man knew her name or her identity with her mask on. Or maybe it was the mask that was her defining feature.

Narrowing her eyes, Karin stared at the man. He had three parallel scars on the right side of his face, and a tattoo with the number '69' on his face. As she skidded backwards through the air, she considered the man, and finally said, "Sorry, but I have to go." She shot a flames towards the shinigami with one swift slice through the air. Then she proceeded to use shunpo so that she was behind him, and hurled a phoenix-shaped flame at his back.

Hisagi Shuuhei fell to the ground, his skin slightly red and smoking. Then Karin sped off once again, leaving all the other shinigami behind.

There were million reasons why Karin had to go; if her comrades had fought for three hours without winning, at best, they would reached an unsteady balance; another stalemate. She didn't want to think about the worst-case scenario.

She would have to pray that the battle had been held to a stalemate, and that she would be able to break it.

Suddenly, there was an opening in the sky, and Karin instinctively plunged through it, to land in a place that was all too familiar to her.

...

It was unsurprising, really, to step into Urahara's candy shop, and Karin looked around once again at the boxes of candies. Their normally vibrant colors seemed faded, and dull at that moment. Releasing her mask, Karin felt and saw it disintegrate completely, to her private relief. She wasn't an arrancar. A turmoil, both mental and spiritual, that she hadn't realized she had within her, suddenly dissipated.

Karin asked, "So this was your plan all along, Urahara-san?"

Coming out from behind a shelf full of candy, the shop owner commented, "Very astute, Karin-san. And I see that you've finally gained complete control over your inner-hollow."

'_So that was why my mask disappeared?'_ Karin wondered.

Out loud, she crossed her arms and countered, "If I weren't in a hurry to have a proper explanation, I would hit you right now for putting me through all that hell."

Smiling at her 'charity,' Urahara proceeded, "Then without further ado, let me explain."

"Ideally, you should have been sent to the vaizards to be able to fight your inner hollow. But obviously, things didn't quite work out; Aizen knew about your existence, so I sent word to our Arrancar ally, Neliel Tu Oderschvank, right after the first two Espada had attacked."

Ah. She should have known. So Urahara and Neliel had been looped together from the start. So when Urahara had said 'six could remain,' he had naturally meant seven. He had essentially saved a spot for her. The man had thought of everything. The mere thoroughness in Urahara's thought process earned him her grudging respect. But she still thought he was a sadist.

When she nodded her understanding, Urahara continued, "And now Aizen has come to harvest the souls of Karakura to make the King's Key; to 'attain the heavens.'"

With a smile that showed hints of bitterness, the platinum blonde shop keeper finished, "And Ichigo-san and the others have been stalled at a stalemate for the past three hours. They are, of course, tiring."

Then a tall, purple haired woman with dark skin appeared at the doorway and called, "Kisuke. You can't hold the battle off any longer. Now that she's here, we have to go."

She nodded and acknowledged Karin. "The name's Yoruichi. So you are Ichigo's younger sister."

The shopkeeper looked from the tall woman to the cane in his hands. Heaving a theatrical sigh, Urahara turned towards Karin and Yoruichi.

"Shall we go, then?"

Gripping the hilt of her sword tightly, Karin nodded tersely.

...

"Why won't you fight me!" Rangiku screamed. Her usual composure was gone. She had fallen to pieces before Ichimaru Gin, and she wanted desperately for the silver-haired man to answer her questions. Questions that had festered over the course of three years, starting from the day that her world had been torn apart. Questions that extended beyond why Gin wouldn't fight her.

"That ain't no way t'talk to your friend, is it now?" Gin drawled, with no hint of a falter in his shunpo.

Gripping her sword, the gray dust of Haineko floating about her menacingly, Rangiku shook her head, more at herself than at Gin.

"You're… no friend… of mine." She forced out.

Gin's smile seemed a little sad as he said, "That's too bad," and flash stepped to right behind Rangiku and finished, "'cause I did love you, you know."

It took all of Rangiku's crumbling self control to keep her zanpakutou released.

"Then why did you leave!"

His mask snapping back to place, Gin said, "I swore my allegiance t'the man that accepted me. S'as simple as that."

Tears welled up into Rangiku's eyes.

"_I_ accepted you! I followed you _everywhere_! I was_ yours_!"

Gin gave her no answers.

...

Grimmjow extended his left arm, which was encompassed by a compressed cero shaped to a blade. With his zanpakutou already released, his form was half-jaguar and half-man. He stared forward blankly, unseeing, but wore a smile on his face.

"So you think that blinding me will ensure your victory, Tousen?" He roared.

Whipping his spiked tail around and firing his cero in a circular radius around him, Grimmjow laughed almost diabolically and said, "I can smell your fear! Your bankai is weak! It's the bankai of a coward!"

He had been waiting for the moment, the moment he would pay Tousen back for all the pain and humiliation that had been burned into several years before.

"A fine thing to say as you bleed your heart's blood out from several wounds." Tousen commented, slicing yet another cut into Grimmjow's body, narrowly missing a large blood vessel. "You will die here."

Grimmjow grinned fiercely and flexed his arms, preparing for yet another cero.

"We'll see about that."

...

Ichigo, Toushirou, Renji, and Neliel were all fighting against Aizen, who still continued to dominate them despite all of their combined efforts.

Neliel galloped to where she had thought Aizen was, until she fired her lance to see that it was instead, Renji that she was attacking. Growling and averting her attack towards the ground, Neliel whirled and shouted to Aizen in no particular direction, "Face us like a man!"

Soft laughter sounded, and Aizen's voice echoed from all directions, "My illusions are complete, and can fool all five senses. You have no way to defeat me."

"Well, maybe it's about time we used something other than our senses to defeat you, then!"

Toushirou whirled at the voice. It was Karin, in her shinigami uniform, her mask gone. He was torn between relief that she was healed and alright, and anger due to her having come to endanger the whole human race.

"Idiot! Why did you -" he started to shout, but he spotted Urahara and Yoruichi behind her, and understood. That old man had been planning for Karin to come all this time. He cursed under his breath. But he knew that Karin's power would be enough to tip the scales.

With a flare of heat that even Toushirou could feel from beneath his comforting outer layer of ice, Karin released her bankai.

"**Houou Shinketsuen!**"

Karin sprouted wings of fire that looked made her look like Toushirou's polar opposite. As Urahara and Yoruichi separated to help Grimmjow and Rangiku respectively, Karin soared to land across from Toushirou. She kept her distance, remembering their disastrous attempt at teamwork the last time.

But before she started to attack at the illusions that surrounded her, Karin started ripping at her red bankai-outer jacket. Tossing thready stripes of cloth to her comrades, Karin said, "If your senses are fooling you, then don't use them!"

She tied the red cloth around her eyes, and suddenly flew to one direction. Toushirou's fingers fumbled as he tied the red cloth around his head. If he couldn't see, his zanpakutou would have to guide him.

_'Hyourinmaru, I'm trusting you…'_

His trust was well placed. With his eyes forcefully obstructed, Toushirou could feel more clearly in a way that merely closing his eyes could never allow him to. He could feel Kyouka Suigetsu's power radiating from one direction, and he was inevitably flying towards it.

Flame, ice, darkness, lances, and bones all centered to one area with a deafening explosion.

...

**A/N: **Phew…. Wow, my shoulder hurts, for some strange reason. And I have this inexplicable urge to suddenly draw all five of them with red cloth tied around their eyes… but I will refrain from doing so, since I'll be writing instead.


	21. Indefinite Leave

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite.

**Summary:** It's been three years since Ichigo gained his Shinigami powers, and the battle between Soul Society and Arrancar has grated to a stalemate. Karin's soul is separated from her body and her chain of fate is broken. But that doesn't mean she's dead...

**A/N:** I am so sick of battle scenes. Ugh...

And I'm sorry I wasn't able to make this clear through my writing, but Karin was battling her hollow since she broke her mask off in Hueco Mundo. She just wasn't aware of it until her mask completely disappeared in Urahara's shop. _"A turmoil, both mental and spiritual, that she hadn't realized she had within her, suddenly dissipated." _ is the small indication of this.

I should have written Karin encountering her inner hollow when I had her materialize Shinketsuen. That was lack of planning on my part, and I apologize. Maybe I'll rewrite it.

EDIT: I have rewritten chapter 17. It's still probably not very clear, but at least I don't look like a fool that doesn't plan out her stories anymore...

...

**Chapter 21** - Indefinite Leave

...

The simultaneous attacks executed by the blindfolded had hit their target head on. It made sense, in a diabolical way; once they were blinded, they could see. But the cumulative attacks hadn't been enough; Aizen's presence and spiritual energy was still tangible in the air.

Bending back into an offensive posture, Karin prepared herself mentally and physically for another attack. Suddenly, there was a flash of light that blinded the shinigami and arrancar even through their blindfolds.

"What's happening!" Karin cried out, ripping off her blindfold, only to shield her eyes with her red sleeve from the dazzling light that was coming from the area she had just attacked moments before. It was several heartbeats before she heard Urahara's voice answer, barely recognizable with the note of dread; Karin could never have imagined the shop owner capable of feeling dread, and it instilled fear into her.

"He's reaping the souls."

Karin eyes widened, and she protested, "But there shouldn't be enough spiritual energy…"

But she could not finish her sentence to deny the evidence both her eyes and her spiritual keenness was presenting her. The un-buried souls of Karakura nearby were being shredded to pieces. A living passerby that had come too close to Aizen had his very soul ripped out of his body, assimilated into the golden light that emanated from Aizen's hand.

Toushirou, realizing the situation, shouted, "He plans to sacrifice the lives of his subordinates as well!"

Everything clicked into place.

Karin and Ichigo simultaneously slammed on their hollow masks. But before they could attack, they discovered, to their horror, that even the blades of their zanpakutou were beginning to wear down into little spiritual particles that were slowly being drawn towards Aizen.

...

Immediately, as soon as Aizen had started to harvest the souls, Gin darted in front of Rangiku, pushing her as far from the harvester as possible. As his zanpakutou, shinsou, started to deteriorate, his ever-present smile wavered.

"Get away from here, Rangiku."

Rangikue, confused and torn, tried to stammer a question, but Gin cut in uncharacteristically, "The closer you are to the harvester, the faster your soul will be converted to spiritual particles. Go back to Soul Society."

"Gin-!"

But Gin turned away from her, walking towards the light of Aizen's figure. "It's what I chose. This is th'price I pay."

Rangiku grabbed Gin's white sleeve, finally able to coherently convey her anger.

"You think you can just leave like that!"

When Gin turned back to her, his face unsmiling but more like himself than he had ever been. Closing her slender fingers around his wrist, Rangiku pleaded, "It's simple, Gin."

And it was.

...

Staring at her zanpakutou deteriorating slowly but surely, Karin's red and black eyes widened and turned back to their normal color as her mask shattered into spiritual particles that were immediately vacuumed towards the light. Every second of hesitation was one more soul sacrificed. Karin knew this, yet she couldn't make herself move. Shinketsuen continued to be eaten away by Aizen's harvesting.

Finally tearing his eyes away from his crumbling zanpakutou, Ichigo turned his younger sister, his blindfold already untied and drifting away through the air.

"Karin!"

With a tremendous effort, Karin willed her blade to stay whole, recalling the last few pieces of spiritual pressure that had broken away from her sword. With that, Shinketsuen materialized, his red hakama looking worn and raveled at the edges. But he was smiling.

_"It's not snowing in the Hanging Gardens anymore. You know that?"_

His voice echoed oddly. Karin nodded tightly, unable to speak.

The red hakama Shinketsuen wore continued to slowly deteriorate at the ends. Karin gripped her sword so tightly that she was sure she would have the imprints of the thread design on the hilt on her hands for the rest of her life.

_"What__ are __you __hesitating __for?__" _Shinketsuen demanded._"You're __fighting __for __the __lives __of __others, __Crybaby.__"_

This hardened her resolve. She was fighting for others. Lunging forward and regenerating her mask, Karin's wings of flame flared a darker blood-red than ever, and Karin called to her comrades. They came to her side; Toushirou was a safe distance from her, but one comforting look from him was all she needed. She almost felt his determination flow into her.

All of the shinigami were armed with their bankai and materialized zanpakutou, the siblings also with their masks, while Neliel alone stood on the earth, armed with her four hoofed legs and lance.

They could not afford to deter their attack any longer; souls were shattering and being sucked into Aizen's now glowing figure. The blade of Karin's zanpakutou had been reduced to less than half its original length, its loss in metal blade supplemented only by flame.

"Aizen!" roared Toushirou, and as soon as he did, they attacked.

Several of the attackers were blasted back by Aizen's free hand, but Karin, Ichigo, and Toushirou persevered and poured all of their power to their oncoming attacks.

Grimly continuing to harvest the souls, Aizen's expression hardened and he smiled as Karin's own soul began to deteriorate with his ten foot radius. The man now seemed to be focusing all of his energy and power to harvest the souls.

Which meant he wouldn't be able to defend himself.

Karin was determined, even at the cost of her and Shinketsuen's spiritual matter, that she would destroy Aizen; no more souls would be sacrificed for an impossible dream to "reach the heavens."

Narrowing her eyes, Karin summoned all the flame she could, Ichigo and Toushirou doing the same with their respective powers.

Engulfed in blood-red flames, dark energy, and ice, the ex-shinigami was powerless to stop the onslaught of spiritual attack.

The light of soul particles faded, and the ex-shinigami crumbled away, the last to be sucked into the vacuum that he himself had created.

...

Breathing heavily, Karin looked around at the fallen passerby; passerby who no longer had souls. Her mask broke apart into pieces, and Karin looked down at Shinketsuen. Only the hilt and a barest hint of the blade was left of her zanpakutou. Shinketsuen's red form was nowhere to be seen.

"Shi... Shinketsuen!"

She looked around frantically.

"Shinketsuen!"

Ichigo, too, seemed to be at a loss for what had happened to their zanpakutou's materialized forms.

Then Karin heard a voice whisper in her head,_"Quit__ being__ so __noisy, __damn__it__... I'm__ tired__. If __it__ starts __raining__ again in here__, I'm__ gonna __kill __you __the next time I see you.__"_

It was his way of telling her to stay happy, Karin realized. Weak with relief that Shinketsuen was okay, albeit tired and broken, Karin collapsed backwards through the sky, her stand in the air now gone without her concentration. To her surprise, she landed in sturdy arms. Looking up, she saw that it was Toushirou.

The silver haired shinigami smiled and held Karin from behind, his chest to her back.

"We did it." He said softly.

Breathing out and leaning her slightly smaller frame against Toushirou's body, Karin surveyed the surrounding casualties once more, and whispered, "So many people…"

Wrapping his arms around Karin's waist, Toushirou replied, "But we did it; there will be no more unnecessary sacrifices, and that's what matters. You did well."

Though Karin could feel Ichigo's gaze upon them, she didn't really care. She closed her eyes, ridiculously relieved by the last three words that Toushirou had said to her.

"Did I?"

Toushirou turned Karin so she was facing him, and leaned in to kiss her. He whispered against her lips, "Yeah."

...

Ichigo stared at Toushirou and Karin slightly resentfully across the dinner table.

"So were you planning to tell me about how close you two had gotten any time soon?"

Crossing her arms defensively, Karin shot back, "We didn't particularly hide it or anything. Besides, we didn't have time to tell you, remember?"

The orange haired shinigami rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

Suddenly grinning, Ichigo reached out and ruffled Karin's unruly black hair.

"You're back safe. That's all that matters."

Karin stared at her older brother shrewdly.

"And when were_ you_ planning to tell me you had stuffed _Kon _into my body while I was gone?"

Pulling his hand back hastily, Ichigo was about to attempt to defend himself, when he was saved by Yuzu, who had come back to the table with a tray laden with steaming bowls of soup. Setting out the bowls, Yuzu said, "I'm glad you could come over for dinner, Toushirou-kun."

Toushirou's eyebrow twitched at how Yuzu addressed him, but the rest of the whole stinking Kurosaki family called him by his first name. Well, the rest of the family -

"Future son-in-law!"

… except for Kurosaki Isshin.

Karin's father prattled at him, "Nice to finally meet you! I always had the faint inkling in the past few weeks that something was going on with Karin, and I never imagined that it would be a boy -"

Karin's foot contacted with her father's mouth. Returning back to the table as if nothing had happened, Karin took up her spoon and sipped. Sneaking a glance at Toushirou, who had started upon his food as if he had starved for weeks, Karin smiled and remarked to no one in particular, "It's good to be home."

Yuzu's answering smile was confused, but warm nonetheless. Even Toushirou paused in his shoveling food into his mouth to flash her a half-grin.

It was a happy ending, wasn't it?

...

"What? You're leaving tonight?"

Toushirou ran a hand through his spiky silver hairawkwardly and answered, "Yeah. Now that everything's over, I have to go back to the Gotei Thirteen. Take care of division stuff."

Spotting Karin's crestfallen look, Toushirou sighed.

"I _am_ a captain, you know. I have responsibilities."

Karin replied in a low voice. "I know…"

He pulled her into his arms and said, "You know… you could come, with me. Leave soul candy in your body and just visit a couple of times."

She spoke into his shoulder, her voice muffled.

"Maybe." She doubted it. She was alive, and living people didn't belong in Soul Society.

She hated the idea of being a "star-crossed-lover" as Neliel had warned her earlier, before leaving through the Garganta to "beat some sense into those barbarians in Hueco Mundo."

But being star-crossed-lovers seemed to be the only choice.

...

Running the events of what had happened over through her mind seemed to be the only thing Karin had been doing these days. She especially seemed fixated upon what had happened after defeating Aizen, rerunning the course of happenings over and over again, whenever she had free time, and even when she was busy with homework.

When Karin had first gotten back into her body, the first thing she had checked was her hip. No tattoo on her real flesh. She had been relieved.

Ichimaru Gin and Tousen Kaname had been captured and imprisoned in Soul Society. Karin didn't especially care what happened to them, though Rangiku seemed to care very much. Well, at least about the silver-haired smiley guy, anyways.

Toushirou had stayed with the Kurosaki family for a couple of days, eating a distressing amount of food before leaving Karin in the real world to return to his shinigami duties.

And she hadn't heard from him since.

Life had returned to normal for Karin, punctuated every once in a while by the odd-hollow slaying and cleansing that she did for sport.

But through the few weeks after her comrades had left, something always seemed missing. She spaced off at school even more than she had before.

"Kurosaki! Kindly pay attention, will you!"

Apologizing absently, Karin turned back to the window, staring out at the sky. The teacher, giving her up as a lost cause, returned to her lecture on Japanese History.

...

Karin dribbled her soccer ball by herself, trying to take the edge off of her temper, which had gotten even shorter than before. Frustrated for a reason that she knew all too well, Karin kicked the soccer ball vehemently into the net.

"That stupid…" She muttered, picturing for the thousandth time that day, the silver-haired tenth division captain.

"You'd better not be talking about me." commented a husky voice, sounding both amused and irritated.

Whirling around, Karin saw Toushirou standing behind her, dressed in his twenty-first century clothes.

"What are you doing here?" After the words left her mouth, Karin winced at the tone of voice she had used.

Raising an eyebrow but otherwise ignoring her less-than-friendly tone, Toushirou replied, "The commander assigned me to Karakura; since Aizen is gone, there just isn't as much work to do in Soul Society."

Frowning, Karin asked dubiously, "Is that allowed? To send a captain out to handle small-fry hollows and soul burials, especially to a town with two shinigami already living in it?"

Looking irritated, Toushirou cleared his throat and said, "Okay, so maybe the commander bent the rules for me, but I still got the permission to come."

As the implications sunk in, Karin felt a grin start to spread across her face. Crossing over to Toushirou, Karin looked up into his face and asked, "So how long will you be watching over Karakura?"

Pretending to think, Toushirou looked up at the sky and said, "Oh, maybe an indefinite period of time? Until the next super-villain comes to plague the spiritual world, I guess?" Rolling his crystal blue eyes to look at Karin once more, Toushirou asked, "Your family still have a spare room for me?"

Karin answered by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. She felt Toushirou smile against her lips before he kissed back.

It wasn't a happy ending, Karin realized. It was a happy beginning.

...

**A/N: **Thanks so much to the readers who stuck with me through this story! I love you guys!


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